The Canadian Jewish News, Wednesday, September 7, 1983 - Page 3
World-National
Under treatment at Toronto's Sick Kids Hospital
ery for Israeli child will cost thousands
By
TAMMYKAROL
TORONTO —
An Israeli boy with an oesophagus jotned to his lungs has been sent to Toronto's Hospital for SiclT Children for life-saving medical treatment and is seeking financial aid from the community.
David Rechnitz was born with a non-functioning lower oesophagus that never joined to his stomach, and with a hole between his trachea and oesophagus.
He had respiratory distress due to pneumonia, as food was going into His lungs and he has never been able to eat properly.
AVhen David was 3 days old he was transferred to the Hadassah University Hospital at Kuyat Hadassah. The 5-year-old child has speiit most of his life there.
Lastweek, Dr. Medad Schiller, professor and surgeon-in-chief for the pediatric department at Hadassah sent Daiyid for medical treatment to Dr. Robert Filler, professor and surgeon-in-chief at the Hospital for Sick Children.
Dr. Filler is now examining the youngster to determine what can be done for him.
He can not determine yet how long David must
remain here. But cost for hospitalization will amount to $985 per day, according to Kenneth Rowe, assistant administrator at the hospital.
The cost applies for foreigners needing medical treatment at the hospital and does not include surgical fees. So far, friends of the Rechnitz family have raised $5,000 for David's stay here but more money is needed.
David's parents have opened a Canadian checldng account al BankLeomi [3055 Bath-nrst St.] and at Banlt Ha-poalim [1st Canadian Place] and hope there will be contributions placed into their accounts.
Irit and Itzhak Rechnitz are currently Rvfaig with an uncle in Toronto and can be readied at 789-2441.
Surgery for David was postponed initially because he developed jaundice after birth.
But a week after he was bom his right lung collapsed and doctors had to give him oxygen. They opened the chest outside the space of David's lungs and then placed a feeding tube into his stomach (a first gastrostomy operation).
Several days later the doctoJ-s sewed two ends of the oesophagus together and closed the fistula between David's tra-
David Rechnitz is currently undergoing examinations at the Hospital for Sick Children. He was bom with his oesopluins attached to Us lungs and cannot eat properly.
milk and large quantities of food, hi addition, food was leaving David's stoniach too quickly and
chea and oesophagus, hence able to prevent
food from going into the lungs. The surgery's success
was shortlived. David
developed a gastro-oeso- sophagus. Ihe food phageal   reflex   which   would travel up towards
more and David was being fed by a tube in his stomach. Between the ages of 2
sent food back from his stomach to his oesophagus. His stomach had to be stretched out around the base of the oesophagus to prevent the reflex from occuring. (This operation is known as Nis-sen fundoplication),
After the surgery to stop the reflex action,
two other complications problems disappeared, cropped up: David oesophageal couldn't tolerate sugar, ^^^^^^ did not grow any-
was piling up in a pouch and 4 David did not chew tliat developed^in his oe-   his food well and often
solid pieceis of meat had to be surgically removed from the oesophageal pouch and the lower oesophagus.
When David was 2V2, even the feeding tube had to be removed from his stomach. The hole where the tube was inserted provoked inflammation of the skin around the stomach and leaking of fluids close to where the tube was inserted.
the mouth and cause vomiting.
For the first 18 months of his life, David largely suffered from lack of oxygen in his lungs, which can be attributed to the* compression of the trachea by the oesophageal pouch. But at the end of this period the tracheal
Doctors closed the hole where the tube was placed and feeding was attempted by mouth for a short period. _
Between 4 to 5 years old David was hospitalized for several weeks only. He had no respiratory or digestive problems but despite this he vomited frequently and had difficulty breathing.
This May, David was admitted to Hadassah because of high fever, shortness of breath and abdominal pains. He developed a strong pneumonia on his right lung as well as a yeast inflammation on the linfaig of his oesophagus, and doctors had to surgically remove the anterior part of the fdndoplication. [The initial Nlssen fundoplication surgery stretched the stomach around the oesopliagus in order to Join the oesophagus to the stomach].
Again, though, a big hole developed around the area where the feeding tube was placed in David's stomach. There was no choice but to close off the opening between the child's oesophagus and stomach.
Today, after three gas-trostomy operations where feeding tubes are placed into the stomach, David still has an oesophageal pouch and there is no guarantee the gas-
tro-oesophageal reflex will not return.
As a result of what happened to her son, Irit Rechnitz has formed the Chai Association for the pediatric surgery department of the Hadassah Medical Organization. _ The association, now two years old and 100 members strong, was established by parents and volunteers from all over Israel to help children up to age 14 who need medical assistance such as general surgery at the hospital.
Irit was very ill during her pregnancy with Day-id and developed an ex-pecially bad virus during her fifth week. She knows of several IsraeH women whose children were bom with a sick oesophagus and claims a large number of them were ill during the early weeks of pregnancy.
The Rechnitzes live in Jerusalem and have two other children, Bruria, 10 and Ayala, 7.
Itzhak Rechnitz previously owned a shoe store but had to give up his business once David's condition tumed critical. He now holds a job at the Dafna shoe company.
Irit was employed as a medical records officer before David was hospitalized, and now works as a secretary in a management office.
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