Kyrgyz baby with persistent cloaca successfully operated in Istanbul

Sezimai Aziretaalyeva, a 17‑month‑old girl from Kyrgyzstan born with a rare "persistent cloaca"—a single channel for the rectum, vagina and urethra—underwent a ten‑hour reconstructive surgery at VM Medical Park Florya Hospital in Istanbul. After five unsuccessful operations in Russia, her parents, Manas Kyzy Uulkan and Targyn Uulu Aziretaalya, travelled to Turkey on the recommendation of another family. Surgeons separated the combined tract into distinct bowel, urinary and genital openings and placed a temporary colostomy. The infant was monitored in intensive care before being moved to a regular ward, with plans for a second operation to close the colostomy within three to six months. The medical team aims for the child to regain normal urinary and bowel function and lead a typical life. The mother said, "I have always dreamed the day my daughter's anus would be rebuilt," expressing relief after the successful procedure.