FAQ – Necrotizing Enterocolitis

What is this?
Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC) is a syndrome wich consists in intestinal infarction.

What part of the intestine is affected?
Terminal ileum and colon, although the entire GI tract is affected in severe cases.

Why is NEC important?
Because NEC is the most common gastrointestinal emergency in the newborn infant and NEC accounts for substantial long-term morbidity in survivors of neonatal intensive care unit.

What are the risk factors of NEC?
Prematurity, milk feeding, circulatory instability, infection, and impaired mucosal defense. NEC incidence is greatest in newborn infants with birth weight less than 1.5 Kg, so prematurity is the most important risk factor.

How can be prevented?
It is well know that avoidance of hypertonic formulas, medications or contrast agents, prompt treatment of polycythemia, and placement of umbilical artery catheters with the tip below the level of the inferior mesenteric artery, prevent this condition.

What are the manifestations of NEC?
There are systemic and abdominal manifestations.

  • Systemic signs are nonspecific and include apnea, respiratory failure, lethargy, poor feeding, temperature instability, or hypotension (in severe cases).
  • Abdominal signs include distention, gastric retention (residual milk in the stomach before a feeding), tenderness, vomiting, diarrhea, and hematochezia (passage of bloody stools through the rectum).

How NEC is diagnosed?
The presence of abdominal distention, hematochezia, and pneumatosis intestinalis confirm the diagnosis of NEC.
We have to perform several studies, including blood analysis, stool analysis, sepsis evaluation, and radiographic studies.
The results of these studies often are nonspecific, although the radiograph may be diagnostic.

What are the findings at the radiograph?
Marked abdominal distention, dilated loops, pneumatosis intestinalis (bubbles of gas in bowel’s wall) and/or free intraabdominal air.

Could you show me a radiograph with this findings?
Yes, here you can see marked abdominal distention, dilated loops, pneumatosis intestinalis (bubbles of gas in bowel’s wall)
NEC

What is the treatment of this condition?
It depends on the stage of the disease. Medical managemente is appropiate in most cases, but in those patients with advanced NEC and bowel perforation we have to perform surgical intervention.

What are the complications?
The acute complications are infectious and hematologic. The late complications are intestinal narrowing or stricture formation and short bowel syndrome.

What is the prognosis?
Due to advances in neonatal intensive care, agressive treatment, potent antibiotics and earlier diagnosis, approximately 70% to 80% of infants who have NEC survive, and approximately 50% of these are normal. The mortality rate is higher in infants who require surgery for NEC.

Dr. Jon Mikel Iñarritu

30 thoughts on “FAQ – Necrotizing Enterocolitis”

  1. my little boy was born at 27wks and 6 days weighing 2lb 15oz he had his ups and downs but by 7 weeks was doing and feeding well and weighed 4lb 10 oz we thought it wouldnt b long untl we had him home, then they discovered then he had a hernia they operated and he got over this well but after ventilating him for the op they damaged his windpipe and gave him a stridor so they had to operate again to widen his windpipe he had to be sedated for a week to recover but was doing well then 5 days after his op we were called saying he was poorly and they thought he had nec they started giving him antibiotics and scanning and xraying him regularly 3 days later they said he would need an op then we got a dreaded call saying there was nothing more they could do for him 95% of his bowel had died he died in my arm aged 10 weeks am devasted a thought he was passed getting things like that 🙁 x

  2. Hell everybody, I wanted to share my story with you and hope it leaves some of you with a positive outlook on your child’s future. My daughter had NEC as a baby, and PDA surgery. She also had a perforated bowel..multiple times, a feeding tube for the first few years of her life, I don’t remember all of the medical terms anymore but they had inserted a coin like object in her asophogas sp? to keep her from throwing up all of the time, so she wouldnt have to have a trac. My sweet girl also from NEC had a central line for many months, and fifteen surgeries that consisted but not limited to removing, intestines, colon,gall bladder,she had a colostomy and iliostomy multiple times and multiple times they were sewn back down,the last step was her name was added to the multivascular transplant list…. sooo the story goes on and on for two years. However by the grace of God she recovered before she had the chance to have the transplant and now she is a beautiful,happy,healthy, very intellegent 8 yr old girl. You would never be able to look at her and tell she was ever that sick! she has scars all over her back, chest and stomache, and she has never had a regular bowel movement, always watery, and they come on suddenly…any ideas on that one??? There is hope for all of these children! Stay strong for them! God Bless all of you and your beautiful children! my thoughts and prayers are with all of you!

  3. Hi Mike

    I’m happy to hear of a healthy person that has survived NEC (and PDA surgery) so perfectly!

    My son was born in week 26+3 and developed NEC after 5 days. He was so healthy the day before, everything happened so quickly. He had 20 cm of his bowel removed (2/3 left at that time) and a month later another 10 cm removed. He was very sick and we thought we should loose him several times.

    Today we are home and his is doing perfectly fine. Every day I remind my self how sick he has been. It’s a miracle that he is doing so fine. We where lucky to have him at the best hospital in Sweden. But even there they made several mistakes that nearly costed him his life.

    The scar reminds us every day. Will it look less scary when he is your age Mike? Today it is about 8 cm long just above his belly button.

    Please don’t hesitate to contact me if any of you want a “friend” in a parent with a “NEC child”.

    Helena (Stockholm, Sweden)

  4. Hi All,

    I was born at 24 weeks in April 1984, weighing in at 1lb 7oz and had both NEC and PDA surgeries…

    As of today, I am a healthy 26 year old with a business degree and played lacrosse in college. (no affects from mental or physical standpoint) Aside from the scar across my stomach and under my arm, you wouldn’t know I was in your children’s shoes.

    I feel for those on here that were not as lucky as my parents were and their son or daughter did not make it through. I just wanted to share my stats in hopes that some of you can look to the future knowing that your child can have a perfectly normal life in some cases.

    Mike

  5. I’m so sorry for everyone who lost their child to this horrible disease. On July 23rd my perfect little boy Keyon was born. He was 27 weeks at the time. He weighted 1lb 12oz . To the nurses he was one of their strongest baby because when he was born he was their tinest patients. Everyday me and keyon’s mother went to visit our son at the hostpital it was great news either he was gaining weight or he was one step closer to coming home. On September 19th 2010 me and keyon’s mother went to visit our baby boy expecting good news but when we arrived at the nicu there were about 6 or 7 nurses and doctors going in and out of keyon’s room. Me and my girlfriend did not have a clue what was going on because he was so perfect the day before. The doctor on duty pulled us aside and told us that our baby boy intestines were swellen and that he will be shifted off to another hostpital and that they will do surgery and that Keyon will be jus fine. So me and my girl go back to Keyon room to be there with our child. They were supposed to be getting ready to shift our baby boy off to another hospital so I leave the hosptal to grab a few things from my house and meet my son and girlfriend at the hospital he was getting shipped to. I get a phone call from my girl saying that they were doing CPR on my son at the same hospital he been at so I tell her I’m on my way and hang up. But then she calls me a few mins later and tell me he was gone. I’m 18 that doctor never once told me or my girl about nec and how severe it was when we first arrived at the hospital. They never diagnosis him with nec or I never heard of it until my son was gone. I didn’t get to spend my sons last minutes with him because the doctor never informed us about how critical my son was that day. I’m so hurt words can’t explain how I feel. The night before or the day of my son death wasn’t none of his primary care givers were with him.i jus wished they would of handled his last moments differently I wish they would of made sure me and keyon’s mother was there. I’m so confused that’s why I’m on the internet to get all the answers for this disease. Is it so rapid like that is it so severe for them little guys that there is nothing the people who get paid to save the children can’t do there job. I need so answers plz someone can you give me some advice

  6. My son was born at 32 weeks on july22nd 2010 weighing 1 lb 11 oz he was extremely iugr. he was doing great they had been increasing his feedings at a rate of 4 ccs increment per day. On aug06/2010 i got a call that he had some infection but they didnt knowi where it was coming from i went to the hospital n he had a swollen belly not much but swollen n really fussy. i left the hosp @ 10:30 pm friday night. at 5:30 am saturday he was diagnosed with NEC by the time it was visitation @ 12:30pm on sat 7th 2010 he was complety purple veiny n his stomach very very swollen n black n 100% on oxygen the dr couldnt get any blood from him he was on 3 diff antibiotics on blood pressure medication hes intestines hadnt perforated yet but the dr told us he was very very sick she told us we had to make a desicion which my husband n i couldnt @ 9:07 pm sat my bby ryan passed away n my 6 yr old screamed n screamed n its so hard to watch that so i just wonder if the drs hadnt increased his feedings the way they did maybe my ryan would still be here i mean he wast at 13ccs a week when they had started him on 2ccs. i just cant help but wonder if maybe there was something else they couldve done for him or mayb diagnosed him earlier

  7. I am very sorry for anyone who has lost there child to this unpredictable disease called NEC, your little angels are with God now.

    I need to tell someone my story so here it is:
    On February 1, 2010 at 28 weeks i deliver my twin boys, they were very small weighing in at 1 lbs 4 oz and 2 lbs 14 oz. Three weeks after they were born around February 20th one of my boys Kyle the bigger one delvoped NEC. the doctors said it was a serious disease but my son seemed unfazed by it, he didn’t have a bloated stomach, didn’t seem like he was in pain or anything like that but his x-ray showed he had this disease. the doctors stopped his feeding and started him on a 10-day course antibiotic. he was fine after about three days, doing great, x-rays looked great. Then about a week later on February 26th my other son Cory the smaller of the two developed the same disease NEC but it was rapidly getting worse, they thought it might be NEC around 10pm that night, diagnosed him with NEC at 12am, they started antibiotics around 5am, they called us at 6am the next morning on February 27th to tell us to come to the hospital becasue he was not doing good, when we got there they told us it was NEC, we thought that’s all he has; he’ll be fine our other son Kyle just had this infection. he looked really bad his stomach was purple, he was not that active, he really looked sick. At 9am they put a tube in my baby’s stomach to help drain some of the fluid out of his intestines, he tolerated the procedure well. At 11:15am my son’s heart rate dropped and they started CPR. the doctor said his heart was not pumping on it’s own. We were in the room the whole time they were working on him, my son was passing away right in front of me, i didn’t know what to do, all i could do was pray, i prayed to God to keep my baby safe and strong and if he thought that was with him then i was ok with that, i prayed to God to not let my baby suffer. My son, Cory looked like he was in so sick but i thought he could make it through this, he was so strong, he overcame so many odds (being very small at birth, overcoming numerous infections). he was my little fighter but this infection NEC was to painful for him to bear. It was so devastating, my son was growing, taking his feeding well and beating all the odds. My son passed away in my arms, his heart was not beating regularly but he was still so warm in my arms, it felt so good to hold him,it was the first time i had ever held him (unable to becasue he was on an ocillator-ventilator). i held him until he became cold and hours after that, the love i have for my son is undescribeable but i have to go on, i have to be strong for my other children, his twin brother and his older brother and two older sister. It’s so hard to keep going on without my son, Cory. He will always be my little fighting angel and i will never forget him and always love him.

    I just don’t understand how one of my boys could get through NEC with a breeze, like it bearing fazed him and my other son could not. i could see the difference in how it affected them both, one didn’t look sick at all and the other looked severely critical.

  8. my son was born at 32 weeks. i had a velamentous cord insertion of the umbilical cord and there were problems with compression during birth, as well he was breach and i it was a vag birth so that might have contributed to him having NEC after a few weeks of seeming to do well. he’s been home since shortly before his due date, but has ongoing intestinal difficulties. he has chronic pain, particularly with gas and bowel movements. he’s 8 months old now (6 corrected), and has been on solids for a bit more than a month. since he started he’s been constipated and taking stool softeners. he is breastfed, and i limit my diet. we just learned he has a milk allergy so that’s the current thing i eliminated from my diet although for a while i followed dr. sear’s colic diet so i eliminated A LOT of things. i’m so worried about my little boy. when he’s good he’s really good, but he seems to have daily bouts of extreme pain. we’ve been back in the hospital once with strange lethargy. they tell me he just has an immature bowel, and it should improve. we’ve also just seen an immunologist as his blood immunoglobulin IgG was very low. i am quite certain there is something not right, but the doctors can’t seem to figure anything out. i wish i could do something about his pain, and i have a feeling that he’s much more sick than they think, some of the stories here have really freaked me out. although we are being followed by a pediatrician, family doctor, and now immunologist, i’m considering taking him to the Hospital for Sick Children in toronto just to be sure he gets a comprehensive workup from the experts.

  9. Hi eddie, I’m sorry for your loss. How davastating it is to loose a child. As a parent we have so many hopes and dreams for our children and they are snatched away from us. I had posted here over a year ago. My son was in chronic pain after NEC repair, he had lactose allergy, and that was part of the problem, but he still didn’t get better. He passed away at 15 months. I now realize that, although NEC contributed to some of his pain, he had other medical issues that contributed to his lack of development and quality of life. I am so sorry for everyones’ loss. I am so sorry my son is gone, but I have to remind myself that he is in a happy place and that I will meet with him someday. My six year old says that we have a guardian angel now. I believe him.

  10. on june 30 2009 i lost my lil angel to nec.she was diagnosed on that same day at 3pm.and the doctores decided they would wait til 8p, to do another xray.she passed at 6 opm.my baby had a perferated intestine .at this point the doctores didnt even perform any tyoe of surgeries to try to save her.in my mind it seemed like they were moving to slow.and it is real strange that they didnt diagnose days before the 30th.

  11. I just wanted to do a follow up on my story from the 5th of March.
    My little girl Jayde was diagnosed with NEC when she was 3 weeks old and now my princess is 6 months old.
    Jayde is still eating Pepti junior (special milk from pharmacy) and is to remain lactose intolerant as her specialists in Darwin, Australia think that lactose may be a contributing factor to a possible relapse.
    Jayde is like a normal 6 month old, trying to crawl and now eating solids.
    We are very blessed that thus far we have our little angel fighting fit!
    I just wanted to share the next chapter in my story as Jayde Is proof that NEC is not always a death sentence even thou because Jayde was full term plus the doctors didnt think to test for NEC.
    Again I am so sorry for your loss!!
    xx

  12. Hi all,
    I just wanted to send my heartfelt condolences to you all that have lost your precious little angels from this horrible horrible disease.
    I unfortunately am still fighting this battle with the birth of my beautiful daughter 7 weeks ago, I was actually induced with my little angel “Jayde” and she was born 8 days past her due date. We bought her home and started our life as a family together, almost into her third week of life Jayde began vomiting her feeds with alot of force, I was told it was reflux and to treat her accordingly. a week past and Jayde continued vomiting despite my changes to her environment and milk (formula baby) One night Jayde would not keep any of her feeds down and would take an hour to consume one bottle, her temperature had reached 38.4 degrees so I took her to the hospital.
    A lumbar puncture, xrays and ultrasounds later (after force feeding her in the end by mouth and Nasogastric tube) my angel was diagnosed with NEC. Triple antibiotics were started and nil by mouth was enforced after 10 days of this treatment, feeds were started at 1ml every two hours, we were discharged from hospital without a follow up xray ?? and she is now on pepti junior milk, Jayde is still since day of discharge having low grade fevers and has a soft but distended tummy. Does anyone know weather I may be looking at a relapse with my little one or is this just the effects of the strain she has been under? Thank you!! xxx

  13. Hi just wanted to share my story with you. Also I would like to send my condolences to those of you that have had to suffer losses dut to the devestating disease – NEC.

    On the 7th april 2008 I gave birth to my 3rd child, He was only a week early, was footling breech and had interuterine growth retardation, he weighed 2.2kg. Not long after the fiasco of having to deliver him naturally while in a bad breech position he was taken from me to be put on nicu. I was told he was just cold and couldnt hold a temperature for himself just because he was very small. He had been in nicu for a few days when the doctors said they thought he had some kind of hypoglycemia problem and inserted an umbilical catherter. On day 16 my sons stomach was VERY distended, and veiny of appearance. All this time the doctors were force feeding him through a tube more and more volumes of milk! On day 18 it was evident that my son had a SEVERE case of Nec and was sent to another local hospital with facilities to deal with the nec. On day 19 My son had surgery and lost 200cm of his bowel. He was left with approx 50cm. He was taken off all milk feed and placed on TPN, which dramtically affected hi liver leaving him severly jaundiced. I begged and pleaded for them to take him off the TPN as i had seen some of the aftermaths it had on other kids leaving them with chronic liver diease. Eventually they heard my plea and removed him from the tpn – during the time he was on it he had also encountered long line sepsis multiple times. My son is now left with short bowel syndrome, and a milk allergy. He came home from hospital at 2 and a half months old and is now coming up for 10 months old, he is smaller than the average baby his age but he has a healthy appetite and poops regular. I am amazed at how well he has done – and i owe his little life to those fantastic surgeons and nurses. However I am of the belief that his NEC was caused by a poorly fitted umbilical catherter in the first hospital he was in….. Can anyone tell me if this is a possibilty? In my opinion there was no need for him to have the umbilical catherter fitted in the first place as he DID NEVER have any hypoglycemia problems. I also believe him to have been mis diagnosed on several occasions in ths first hospital….. Am i allowed to have access to his notes regarding this? I send my wishes and prayers to anyone that has had to deal with this devestating illness.
    xxx
    P.S i am in the UK

  14. Hi Bette how are you? Just waned to share my story with you and all. My 30 week preemie developed NEC 1 month afer birth. He had 2 surgeries to see if his bowls could be saved, after the third surgery he had an ostomy placed, that was taken down 2 months later. He now lives with chronic pain and is constantly crying. He has mal-absorbtion problems and is under weight. The infection caused neurological problems and he is delayed. I don’t know what his future would be like. I asked the doctors not to intervene if his quality of life would be compromised, they assured me that he would be fine. I feel betrayed, my son is in constant pain, he cannot sleep, I cannot comfort him, he has not grown much, at 5 months he looks and acts like a skinny newborn. A person said “he is better than dead.” I was fine with letting go. My son would be in a happy place; is it worth to torture a child because our love for him wants him here? I love him so much and his pain is my pain, I cannot find resolution yet, I am in a “wait and see” game. Will his life improve? what about the neurological damage? I cannot find answers or survivors to share their stories with me. I feel alone and burdened. I cry everyday and am seeking therapy. I’m sorry for your loss, I hope you don’t find insult in what I say, but at least you can find resolution and move on. I am in limbo and don’t know when and if the pain will stop. My son’s physical pain and the emotional pain of seeing the one I love sruggle through life. Are there any survivors? Please share your experience with me, will the chronic pain stop? don’t worry about giving me bad news, at least I can deal with what I know, its not knowing that makes me anxious. Thank you.

  15. I HAD A SON IN JULY 9 WEEKS EARLY AND ALSO DEVELOPED NEC. I WAS RUSHED TO THE HOSPITAL AFTER HAVING MIGRAINES AND PAINS IN CHEST , AND SOMETHING DIDN’T FEEL RIGHT. THEY TOOK MY BLOOD PRESSURE AND IT WAS IN THE 200’S IMMEDIATELY I WAS HOOK UP TO EKG MACHINES AND PUT ON MAGNESIUM. AFTER SEVERAL HRS, MY DOCTORS TOLD ME SHE WAS SCHEDULING A C-SECTION @ 7:30 PM THAT NIGHT. SO OUR SON WAS IN THE NICU FOR 28 DAYS .BORN @ 2.5LBS VERY SMALL AND FIESTY AND THINGS WERE GOOD . HE WAS BREASTFEEDING AND GAINING WEIGHT AND VERY ALERT… HE WAS PERFECT. MY HUSBAND AND I WENT TO DISCHARGE CLASSES AND EVERYTHING. THE HOSPITAL SAID IN 2 WEEKS HE COULD COME HOME ON A MONITOR IF HIS BRADY EPISODES WERE SLOWING DOWN. BUT MY HUSBAND WENT OUT OF TOWN AND I DID MY USUAL DAY ROUTINE TO THE HOSPITAL AND SEE OUR SON . AND THEN A NURSE SAID YOUR SON IS SICK AND I HAD NO IDEA WHAT WAS GOING ON . HE TURNED REAL WHITE HIS STOMACH WAS HARD AND PURPLE . IT WAS CRAZY MY HUSBAND RUSHED HOME FROM A BUSINESS TRIP , BUT THIS ALL HAPPENED IN A MATTER OF HRS! OUR LIFE COMPLETELY TURNED UPSIDE DOWN , SO HE WAS FLOWEN TO CHILDRENS HOSPITAL IN DC AND HAD EMERGENCY SURGERY LATE THAT NIGHT (3 HRS) . A LARGE PORTION OF HIS INTESTINE WAS BAD AND THE DOCTORS TRIED TO SAVE THE REST . SO HE WAS ON ANTIBIOTICS AND WERE GOING TO GIVE HIM ANOTHER CHANCE. SO THEY DID ANOTHER SURGERY THE FOLLOWING DAY, WHEN THEY WENT BACK IN IT WAS WORSE AND THERE WAS NOTHING THEY COULD DO . I CAN’T SAY ENOUGH ABOUT CHILDRENS HOSPITAL THEY GREAT AND GAVE US 2 CHANCES TO SAVE OUR SON’S LIVE . AFTER HIS SURGERY IN THE MORNING THE STAFF CAME BACK AND TOLD OUR FAMILY, THERE WAS NOTHING ELSE THEY COULD DO ETC. AND MY HUSBAND HELD HIM TILL HE TOOK HIS LAST BREATHE AUG 28 TH 11:15 AM, AT 28 DAYS OLD. BORN ON JULY 30TH – FUNERAL SERVICES ON AUGUST 30TH 2007. I DO NOT KNOW HOW I’M GOING TO GET THROUGH THIS? PLEASE HELP.

  16. My son was born 5 weeks early and he developed NEC at 3 days old, we tried the medical path for two days and on New Years Eve a radiologist noticed he had previously ruptured, he was sent into surgery where they had to remove about 45% of his transverse colon(if you are going to get NEC its the best place to get it as the surgeon told us) he did well for over three weeks and actually got to go home (which he was the first to do that at our hospital) while waiting to get reattached. On day 2 at home he developed a blockage at his stoma back to the hospital he went, after a 8 hour surgery he was out and to the surgeons suprise with the lack of scar tissue he elected to re attache and remove his appendix. Now Connor is 6 mos old and every day we do a poop dance(when he goes) and he is 18 lbs. and 28″ tall and normal development wise, but its always in the back of our mind stictures scar tissue bowel blockage

  17. MY SON WAS BORN PREMATURELY AT 27WEEKS. ALTHOUGH HE WAS PREMATURE HE HAD NO BRAIN BLEEDS AND WAS WEANED FROM THE VENTILATOR AND PLACED ON CPAP. HE HAD TO RECEIVE PHOTOTHERAPY FOR HIS JAUNDICE, ABOUT DOL #9 WE NOTICED THAT OUR SON BELLY LOOKED SWOLLEN AND TOLD THE PHY ASST SHE PERFORMED AN ABDOMINAL XRAY AND STATED IT WAS REMARKABLE. IN THE MEANWHILE MY SON WAS EXPERIENCING FREQ APNEA’S AND BRADY’S AND HIS FEEDINGS KEPT BEING INCREASED. ALSO, MY SOME HAD A BOWEL MOVEMENT ON THE 4TH OR 5TH DOL BUT ONLY AFTER RECEIVING A GLYCERIN SUPPOSITORY. ON DOL #12 MY SON DIED FROM NEC. POST AUTOPSY SHOWED THAT HIS INSTESTINES WAS DUSKY COLORED BUT DID NOT SHOW HE HAD PNEUMOSTOSI INTESTINALIS. BUT LOOKING BACK AT HIS FIRST ABD XRAY IT SHOWS HE HAD DILATED LOOPS. IS IT POSSIBLE THE PHY ASST DID NOT RECOGNIZE THE THAT DILATED LOOPS, FREQ APNEA’S, BRADY’S AND DISTENTION ARE SIGNS OF NEC. I JUST WANT TO KNOW IF THEIR WAS SOMETHING MORE WE COULD HAVE DONE AS PARENTS TO HELP DIAGNOSE NEC.

  18. My son was born six weeks premature and was doing very well. He weighed 6lbs 4 oz.
    He suddenly developed NEC and it was determined that all of his bowel was damaged. The doctors are really give him almost no chance of survival. I was wondering if there were ant cases this severe and the baby has survived and if so what treatments took place. I am really desperate at the point and am looking for any kind of reassurrance that my son has a chance.

  19. my son was born 14 weeks early he is now five weeks old and 4 days ago he was diagnosed with nec since being diagnosed he has had a operation to remove the dead bowel he has lost about 45% his small intestines… i dont no what the out come is going to be. he has got a stoma which the surgeon has said he will operate in six months to stitch his bowel back together..

  20. I am a healthy 15 year old female who was born with NEC. At two months old I had 3/4 of my intestines removed. I had a 1% chance of survival but the good Lord wa swith me. I now have only 17 inches of my small intestines, and 22 inches of my large intestines. I just wanted to let everybody know that because of this medical history that I have, I am now currently interested in the medical field.

  21. My daughter was born at 25 wks gestation and weighed 430 grams. It has been approx. 6 weeks since she was born and she weighs almost 600 grams. She has had some growth and feeding setbacks such as PDA (which was ligated) and an infection which resulted in low platelets and possible DIC. I asked her doctors if maybe she had NEC, because I noticed her belly is very swollen. They say that she doesn’t have NEC and this is based on looking at x-rays. We are stationed in Japan and she is at a Japanese NICU in Aomori. I think these doctors are amazing and I trust them, however, are there any other diagnostic tests to rule out NEC? What sort of questions should I be asking? Also, is there a time reference window of when NEC is no longer a risk? In addition, she was getting breastmilk only for her feedings but now she is getting breastmilk mixed with formula, fortifiers, iron, and MCT. She gets about 9ccs at each feeding.
    Thank you for any input,
    Jessie

  22. Statistically, his risk of additional perforations is essentially zero. The kind of perforation he had happens most often in the first two weeks of life and almost exclusively in the first month. There is some risk of a different type of perforation or complication because he’s having surgery in the period immediately afterwards, but once he gets up to full feeds afterwards and stays there for a couple weeks he should be in good shape. He will be at a much higher risk for constipation through out his childhood and may benefit from a soluble fiber laxative when he is a little older and being potty trained (or prune juice when he is younger).

  23. My son had a perferated intestine his first week of life. He was 15 weeks early, he is now two months old. They are going to be doing surgery next week to determine if he has a stricture or if there is any other problem with his intestines. I was wondering at what point will the risk of his intestine perferating again be gone?

    He has a twin sister who has not experienced any intestinal problems and has been on full feeds for awhile. Is she passed the danger point or could she have the same thing happen?

  24. My son was born prematurly and had NEC. He is a healthy 10 year old boy now, with the exceptin that he suffered hearing damage due to the strong antibiotic, at least that is what I have been told. Anyway my question is this.. He has always had bowel movement problems. He has extremly large “poop”, and will go forever without having a movement.Now he had surgery to remove the dead tissue then had another surgery for strictures. I was wondering if with the surgeries could this effect his bowel habits in any way. His doctor has put him on a laxative that worked for awhile . Just wanted to know of you had a thought.

  25. my granddughter had nec she was born 9 weeks prem she is now home and is 3 months old but she seems to strain to pass any stool if she dose atall she struggles to have stool once a day can you give me any advice please yours sincerly e. jansch

  26. It is important in diagnosing NEC to distinguish it from spontaneous intestinal perforation (SIP), which is another neonatal disease that has emerged over the past decade that predominately effects infants

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