Total Intestinal Atresia in a Neonate: A Case Report

Intestinal atresias are a common cause of neonatal intestinal obstruction. An extremely rare variant is total intestinal atresia, where no lumen is appreciable from the duodenum through the colon. We describe a case of a 33-week female who was born at an outside hospital and underwent laparotomy for concern for intrauterine perforation and proximal intestinal obstruction. Laparotomy revealed a duodenal perforation and an atresia in the proximal jejunum. Resection of this segment revealed no intestinal lumen distally, and the patient was left in discontinuity and transferred to our tertiary children's hospital. Repeat laparotomy revealed atretic bowel with no lumen through the colon with a normal appearing mesentery. A decompressive gastrostomy tube was placed, and the patient passed away after withdrawal of care. Total intestinal atresia is a rare variation of intestinal atresia with no current surgical or medical treatments.