A case of Hirschsprung's disease underwent surgery in adulthood

Chronic constipation and abdominal distension in a patient with adult Hirschprung's disease and bilateral ovarian teratomas

Hirschprung's disease is a congenital disorder characterized by aganglionic bowel, usually diagnosed in infancy. Here, we present a unique case of Hirschprung's disease diagnosed in a 29-year-old female with acute on chronic constipation. As part of her work up, a computerized tomography of her abdomen and pelvis revealed large, bilateral dermoid cysts. A diagnostic and therapeutic colonoscopy allowed manual disimpaction and decompression of her bowel, as well as biopsy attainment. Histopathology revealed absence of ganglionic cells on haematoxylin and eosin stain and calretinin immunostaining. This case underscores the diagnostic challenges of Adult Hirschprung's disease and how this impacts patient quality of life, as well as the work up and management of concurrent causes abdominopelvic conditions.

OUR EXPERIENCE IN TREATMENT OF HIRSCHSPRUNG'S DISEASE IN A 18-YEAR-OLD PATIENT. CLINICAL CASE

Introduction: Hirschsprung's disease (HD) is a relatively rare condition, in which the intermuscular (Auerbach) and submucosal (Meissner) plexus are absent in the colon wall at various lengths. In the literature, HD is described mainly in relation to the pediatric surgery area of interests because up to 90% of cases of this disease are detected before the age of 5 years 6. However, in some patients, the symptoms of the disease are not severe, so patients survive to adulthood without an established diagnosis.Clinical case: we demonstrate our experience of surgical treatment of Hirschsprung's disease in a 18-year-old patient.Conclusion: Although Hirschsprung's disease is in most cases a disease of childhood, it is necessary to keep in mind its typical symptoms when an adult patient complains of constipation. Proper diagnosis and correctly selected surgical treatment can not only eliminate symptoms and improve quality of life, but also reduce the likelihood of serious complications.

Diagnosis and surgical approach of adult Hirschsprung's disease: About two observations and review of the literature. Case series

Introduction

Hirschsprung's disease (HD) is uncommon in adulthood. In this study, we describe the management of two cases of adult Hirschsprung's disease treated with transanal colonic pull-through procedure followed by a delayed coloanal anastomosis.

Patients and methods

This was a retrospective (December 2016 to Jun 2019) study included two cases of adult HD with confirmed Hirschsprung disease who underwent surgery at Zinder National hospital, Niger. The registration number is researchregistry 5174.

Results

These were two patients aged 21 years (male) and 22 years (female) admitted to the emergency department with an acute bowel obstruction. The history finds a delayed passage of meconium at birth with a history of long-standing recurrent constipation since early childhood for the 2 patients. A lateral colostomy was performed urgently in both patients and the barium enema revealed a disparity of the sigmoid colon with corn shaped transition zone. Histologic examination of the biopsy specimen confirmed the diagnosis of HD. Surgery was done according to transanal endorectal pull-through procedure followed by delayed coloanal anastomosis. Patients were regularly followed over a period of 16 months. Constipation was gone, no continence problem was reported and quality of life was rated satisfactory.

Conclusion

The discovery of Hirschsprung's disease is rare in adulthood. Transanal endorectal pull-through procedure followed by delayed coloanal anastomosis with conventional surgery is a suitable option for the treatment of HD and gives a good result.

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More than 90% of cases, diagnosis and treatment of Hirschsprung’s disease are made in the first 5 years of life; as a result, the diagnosis of HD in adulthood is rare.

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Surgical treatment in adulthood is more laborious because of anatomical changes.

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Many surgical procedures have been described, the best known of which are Swenson, Duhamel, Soave and Lynn. Modifications of these techniques have been proposed.

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The goal of surgical treatment is to resect or exclude the aganglionic segment and to lower the healthy colon, normally innervated at the anus.

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Transanal colonic pull-through procedure followed by a delayed coloanal anastomosis with conventional surgery and manual anastomosis, gives satisfactory results and remains well adapted to the adult Hirschsprung’s disease in context of limited resources.