After 82 days, and 2 surgeries, Ally is about to have her 3rd surgery on May 3rd. The surgery would be the first ever performed by Dupont Hospital. The STEP procedure (Serial transverse enteroplasty) was first introduced back in 2002 on a baby boy with similar issues as Ally. That surgery was successful.
Ally's current issue, is that her bowel has become dilated. When this happens the bowel loses its ability to perform peristalsis, the contractions that move food through the digestive tract. The STEP Procedure will make the bowel smaller in diameter, and at the same time lengthens the bowel (which Ally needs, since her last surgery they had to remove some of her bowel due to blockage). Doctors expect at least a 7 day recovery period, before they would try to feed Ally via a feeding tube.
