‘Smooth’ surgery sees Sergio on road to recovery

A 14-month-old twin whose rare condition prevents him from eating, drinking, crying, and swallowing is recovering in a US hospital after finally receiving the lifesaving operation his parents had been praying for.

Sergio O’Connor was born in Dublin with tracheo-oesophageal fistula, a digestive disorder that left him without a complete oesophagus. Since birth he has had to be constantly monitored to prevent him choking on his saliva.

Last Friday, surgeons at Boston Children’s Hospital successfully rejoined both ends of his incomplete oesophagus in a six-and-a-half hour operation.