What is the definitive treatment for pyloric stenosis?

• A. Laparoscopic pyloromyotomy
• B. Open appendectomy
• C. Endoscopic pyloromyotomy
• D. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Answer: (A)

Hypertrophic pyloric stenosis causes a functional obstruction of the stomach outlet in infants due to thickened pyloric muscle. The definitive fix is a pyloromyotomy—surgically splitting the pyloric muscle while leaving the mucosa intact—to open the channel and allow normal gastric emptying. This directly relieves the obstruction and enables feeding soon after recovery. Today, this is commonly done laparoscopically, offering similar cure rates to the open approach but with less invasiveness and quicker recovery. The other options do not address the obstruction: removing the appendix or the gallbladder targets unrelated problems, and while endoscopic pyloromyotomy exists in some settings, it is not the standard definitive treatment for pyloric stenosis in infants.