Pyloric Stenosis

Pyloric stenosis in the infant is due to spasm and hypertrophy (which means overgrowth) of the muscle making up the pyloric sphincter - the valve at the junction between the stomach and the duodenum, the first part of the small bowel. It causes projectile vomiting (the milk hits the far side of the room), and the swollen pylorus can often be felt through the wall of the infant abdomen during a feed. It is due to reduction in the action of a chemical relaxant agent called Nitric Oxide, and has a familial basis. Ultrasound confirms the diagnosis, and surgery cures it.
 
 
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