A two-and-a-half-year-old child born with a rare congenital condition that left him without a functional oesophagus has started eating through his mouth after undergoing a complex reconstructive surgery at Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, hospital officials said on Sunday. Because of the condition, he was unable to swallow milk or food by mouth since birth. After his nutritional status, weight and overall physical development improved, doctors planned a definitive oesophageal reconstruction surgery. The procedure was performed on July 3 using an advanced gastric pull-up technique, in which the stomach is used to create a new oesophagus. Twenty-three days after the surgery, Mantavya was able to eat through his mouth for the first time.