Kasozi Needs Passage For Faeces

Sep 01, 2002

When Brian Kasozi, 14, was three months old, he developed a swollen stomach and started passing out smelly urine.

By Jovita AjunaWhen Brian Kasozi, 14, was three months old, he developed a swollen stomach and started passing out smelly urine.Rosemary Nalunga, Kasozi’s mother says that at the age of five, Kasozi was taken to hospital because his constipation persisted.“On his first operation, we discovered that the problem was not constipation but there were additional abnormalities in his body, says Dr S.K. Mutumba, Child surgeon at Mulago Hospital.Kasozi’s large intestine has two tubes instead of one, due to a biological accident during the embryonic development. One tube was functional, allowing faeces to move normally towards the anus. The second tube had a pouch that accumulated the faeces.Doctors say this is risky because faeces are poisonous and unless excreted, can jeopardise the body systems.Dr Mutumba says that the bag full of stool causes a lot of pressure on the other structures that surround the intestines, which is dangerous to the boy’s health. “According to our findings during the operation, the non functioning tube was pressing the functioning tube thus causing it to operate at a risk because it could block anytime,” observes Mutumba.The second problem doctors discovered was that the lump of faeces in the pouch was continuously pressing on the urethra and causing damage.At 8 years, Kasozi was referred to Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre in Tanzania where his urethral damage was repaired. However, he still has the duplication of the large intestines that needs to dealt with. “It means removing a large section of the intestine and in Mulago it is impossible and if it was there it would be very expensive.The moment the operation is done, Kasozi will live normally,” Mutumba says.Kasozi has been referred to the Red Cross War Memorial Hospital in South Africa for surgery but needs sh sh7m for the operation, transport for him and his mother and accommodation for the mother.Ends

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