Distal rectal skip segment Hirschsprung disease: Case report and review of literature

Skip segment Hirschsprung's disease: report of two rare cases and management

PURPOSE

Skip segment Hirschsprung's disease (SS-HSCR) is defined as the occurrence of a segment of ganglionated intestine surrounded proximally and distally by aganglionosis. The presence of the skip intestinal segment often leads to clinical misdiagnosis, missed diagnosis or inadequate resection of the lesions. The purpose was to describe two new cases of SS-HSCR with the aim of proposing questions regarding the diagnosis and treatment of this rare disease.

METHODS

We reported two cases of infants with SS-HSCR that were admitted to our institution within the last 3 years.

RESULTS

One patient had a skip segment of ganglionated intestine in the ascending colon. In the other patient, there were no ganglionic cells in the rectum and appendix, but ganglionic cells were visible in the proximal ascending colon. The entire colons in the both cases were finally resected, and a pull-through operation was performed.

CONCLUSION

Multipoint biopsy should be performed when the biopsy results are inconsistent with clinical manifestations. Intraoperative laparoscopic identification of the transition zone may be necessary when TCA is suspected. Multisegment biopsy is needed to as a preventative measure for SS-HSCR if TCA is indicated during surgery. Further study is required to determine the optimal length and method of retention of segments.

Skip segment Hirschsprung's disease: diagnostic clues and surgical management

It is challenging to establish a definitive diagnosis and initiate timely management for skip segment Hirschsprung's disease (SSHD). Herein, we report three cases of SSHD at our institution between December 2008 and March 2018. Patient #1 was misdiagnosed and underwent three successive operations within 2 years. Patient #2 and #3 were diagnosed timely based on previous experience. A segmental narrowing detected by barium enema may raise the possibility of SSHD. Laparoscopic-guided multipoint biopsy is regarded as a mini-invasive and purposeful way to take representative samples after locating the segmental narrowing intraoperatively and accurate the final diagnosis. The laparoscopic-assisted pull-through procedure with radical resection from the distal rectum to the most proximal margin of the diseased skip segment is safe and effective in treating patients with SSHD.Level of evidence: Level III.

Case report of a skip segment Hirschsprung's disease: A real phenomenon

INTRODUCTION AND IMPORTANCE

Hirschsprung's disease is a congenital anomaly that results from an incomplete craniocaudal migration and maturation of intestinal ganglion progenitor cells leading to distal intestinal aganglionosis. Skip segment Hirschsprung's disease is an extremely rare phenomenon. We report a case involving only the small bowel with confirmed colonic ganglionosis.

CASE PRESENTATION

A case report of a 14-month-old with a skipped segment involving the distal 50 cm of the small bowel associated with colonic ganglionosis is presented. A current review of the literature is discussed.

CLINICAL DISCUSSION

Our patient had persistent obstructive symptoms despite undergoing a technically good, ganglionic pull-through operation at an outside institution. A laparoscopic-assisted pull-through might have documented a small bowel wall diameter discrepancy.

CONCLUSION

Although rare, skip segment Hirschsprung's disease is a real phenomenon that paediatric surgeons should be aware of and could involve small and large bowels.

Mesenteric Neural Crest Cells Are the Embryological Basis of Skip Segment Hirschsprung's Disease

BACKGROUND & AIMS

Defective rostrocaudal colonization of the gut by vagal neural crest cells (vNCCs) results in Hirschsprung's disease (HSCR), which is characterized by aganglionosis in variable lengths of the distal bowel. Skip segment Hirschsprung's disease (SSHD), referring to a ganglionated segment within an otherwise aganglionic intestine, contradicts HSCR pathogenesis and underscores a significant gap in our understanding of the development of the enteric nervous system. Here, we aimed to identify the embryonic origin of the ganglionic segments in SSHD.

METHODS

Intestinal biopsy specimens from HSCR patients were prepared via the Swiss-roll technique to search for SSHD cases. NCC migration from the neural tube to the gut was spatiotemporally traced using targeted cell lineages and gene manipulation in mice.

RESULTS

After invading the mesentery surrounding the foregut, vNCCs separated into 2 populations: mesenteric NCCs (mNCCs) proceeded to migrate along the mesentery, whereas enteric NCCs invaded the foregut to migrate along the gut. mNCCs not only produced neurons and glia within the gut mesentery, but also continuously complemented the enteric NCC pool. Two new cases of SSHD were identified from 183 HSCR patients, and Ednrb-mutant mice, but not Ret^-/- mice, showed a high incidence rate of SSHD-like phenotypes.

CONCLUSIONS

mNCCs, a subset of vNCCs that migrate into the gut via the gut mesentery to give rise to enteric neurons, could provide an embryologic explanation for SSHD. These findings lead to novel insights into the development of the enteric nervous system and the etiology of HSCR.