Pediatric Surgery MANAGEMENT OF CONGENITAL ANORECTAL MALFORMATIONS

Anorectal malformations constitute one of the commonest congenital anomlies encountered in the newborn. The enormity of the problem can be judged by the fact that 1 out of every 5000 newborn babies is liable to have this condition. On rough estimates nearly 15000 babies with anorectal malformations are born every year in the densely populated state of Uttar Pradesh, with one of the highest birth rates in the country. With less than ten pediatric surgeons active in the state at present, most of these cases have to be managed at least initially by general surgeons in the next two decades. It is, therefore, imperative that every person aspiring to be a surgeon should have a working knowledge of how to tackle this major but essentially curable birth defect.