A 48-year-old member asked:
What would cause a child to develop pyloric stenosis after birth?
3 doctor answers • 3 doctors weighed in

Dr. Troy Reynaanswered
Pediatric Surgery 46 years experience
Unknown: we do not know the true cause of pyloric stenosis. we do know how to recognize and diagnose it. once diagnosed, the surgery is simple and effective. usually only 24-48 hours in the hospital. can be hereditary if one of the parents had it as infant.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
4k viewsAnswered >2 years ago

Dr. Charles Breauxanswered
Pediatric Surgery 41 years experience
No one knows ...: for sure. Given that hypertrophic pyloric stenosis (hps) occurs 5 times more commonly in boys than girls, and 5 times more commonly in whites than blacks (1 out of every 300 newborn white baby boys), there most be some genetic basis to causation. However, there may be some environmental input into causation also.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
3.9k viewsAnswered >2 years ago

Dr. Jonathan Jasseyanswered
Pediatrics 19 years experience
Pyloric stenosis: Nothing causes it, it's unfortunately one of those things that you are born with. Genes can potentially play a role.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
3.8k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
1 comment

Dr. Charles Breaux commented
Pediatric Surgery 41 years experience
Technically, you are not born with hypertrophic pyloric stenosis (HPS). Most babies that develop this problem start out fine. Then, usually at 2 to 6 weeks of age, they develop the problem, manifested by progressive, postprandial, projectile, nonbilious vomiting. There is some genetic predisposition, so you are born with the genes that can make HPS more likely.
Aug 19, 2014
Last updated Sep 28, 2016
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