Jejuno-ileal atresia: its characteristics and peculiarities concerning apple peel atresia, focused on its treatment and outcomes as experienced in one of the leading South African academic centres.

Purpose: Jejuno-ileal atresia remains the most common form of intestinal obstruction in the neonatal and infantile age group and has an incidence of 1:300 to 1:1500. Apple peel atresia (APA) is the rarest of the five described types. The morbidity and mortality of patients with APA managed at our institution are high, and we review our experience with this paper. We compared our outcomes with other developed and developing countries. In addition, we looked at factors that affect outcome and how we can change them.

Methods: The study was a retrospective review of all patients treated with APA at IALCH between January 2002 and December 2010 and includes 34 patients.

Results: The results revealed a mortality in excess of 70%. There were poor antenatal screening, a high rate of prematurity and often delays in transfer to our institution. Relaparotomy and sepsis rates were high.

Conclusion: This review represents a significant number of patients with APA from a single institution. Although survival rates have improved significantly over the years, APA remains a life-threatening malformation and results in significant morbidity and mortality in our setting.