Gastrointestinal manometry findings in a case with dilated small bowel and disturbed transit treated successfully with bowel plication

Segmental dilatation of the ileum covered almost entirely by gastric mucosa: report of a case

A 13-year-old boy was referred to our hospital for investigation of intermittent abdominal colic pain and vomiting. He underwent an emergency laparotomy, which revealed a volvulus and segmental dilatation of the ileum. The dilated intestine was not associated with poor intestinal circulation. Because the dilated ileum did not seem to be the cause of the volvulus, we simply released the volvulus. However, after surgery, the patient still suffered from persistent abdominal pain, further episodes of volvulus, and invagination of the dilated ileum. Thus, we performed a second operation to resect the segmental dilatation of the ileum. Pathological examination revealed that most of the mucosa of the dilated ileum was composed of ectopic gastric mucosa. We postulate that the ectopic gastric mucosa led to the formation of segmental dilatation of the ileum.

The occurrence of unusual smooth muscle bundles expressing alpha-smooth muscle actin in human intestinal atresia

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE

Intestinal dysmotility is an important problem in the postoperative management of patients with intestinal atresia (IA). Changes in the intramural components have so far been histochemically and immunohistochemically examined in both the proximal and distal segments of IA, but no detailed analysis of the muscular elements has been performed. The aim of this study was to carefully examine any alterations in the muscular elements in the intestines from patients with IA.

METHODS

Resected intestines were obtained from 6 patients with ileal atresia, 4 patients with jejunal atresia, and 3 controls without gastrointestinal diseases obtained by autopsy (congenital diaphragmatic hernia). All specimens were immunochemically stained with a monoclonal antibody to alpha-smooth muscle actin (alpha-SMA) as a smooth muscle marker.

RESULTS

In the normal small intestine, almost all the enteric smooth musculature were positive for alpha-SMA antiserum, except for the bulk of the circular musculature. In the proximal segments of all cases with IA, a reduced staining intensity for alpha-SMA was observed mainly in the severely hypertrophic muscle layers. In addition, some bundles of smooth muscle also were located in the submucosal connective tissue near the border of the innermost layer of the circular musculature, in which large amounts of smooth muscle fibers extended occasionally from the innermost layer of the circular musculature to the muscularis mucosae in the proximal segments of 4 cases. In the distal segments of IA, the distribution of alpha-SMA-positive smooth muscle fibers was similar to that in the control intestines, excluding mild to moderate hypertrophy of the muscular layers.

CONCLUSIONS

Both severe hypertrophy and a reduced immunoreactivity for alpha-SMA were observed in the circular muscle layer of the proximal segments. In addition, the occurrence of alpha-SMA-positive abnormal smooth muscle fibers was recognized in the submucosal layers of the proximal segments, thus, suggesting a delay in the intestinal muscular formation or a regressive reaction secondary to dilatation. These muscular alterations in the proximal segments might be considered to contribute to the postoperative intestinal dysmotility in IA cases.

Results of bowel plication in addition to primary anastomosis in patients with jejunal atresia

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE

Disturbed intestinal transit (DIT) associated with bowel dilation occurs in some postoperative patients with jejunal atresia. Bowel plication (BP) has been introduced to prevent the DIT, but the long-term results of BP are unclear.

METHODS

The authors reviewed the preoperative and operative records and postoperative clinical courses (for 2.3 to 7.0 years; mean period, 3.7 years) of 19 jejunal atresia patients, 4 of whom had undergone additional BP with primary anastomosis after dilated bowel resection or tapering jejunoplasty at neonatal surgery. The degree of DIT was evaluated by the clinical symptoms, weight gain, whether reoperation was performed, and duration from the operation to receiving an oral feeding volume of at least 130 mL/kg/d. The patients then were assigned 4 grades (0 to 3). To determine the presence or absence of bowel dilation at the BP site, the plain abdominal x-rays were reviewed.

RESULTS

(1) Within 2 months after surgery, 4 patients without BP underwent operation because of severe DIT. The degree of postoperative DIT in patients who had received additional BP at neonatal surgery was less than that in patients without BP (mean grade, 0.50 v. 2.08). (2) The preoperative clinical features, operative method, and postoperative weight gain were almost similar in patients with and without BP. (3) On abdominal x-ray the bowel dilation remained 6 to 12 months after the operation, but was not observed over 1 year after the operation.

CONCLUSIONS

In this preliminary study, the addition of BP after tapering jejunoplasty or resection of dilated bowel may be effective in preventing early postoperative DIT. Further study is necessary to evaluate the long-term results of additional BP at neonatal surgery. J Pediatr Surg 36:1752-1756.

E, Lago DVD, Ramaciotti O. Análise quantitativa das ondas fisiológicas do intestino delgado após plicatura parcial e ordenada do íleo em ratos

O presente estudo experimental analisou os movimentos intestinais espontâneos do jejuno proximal e íleo distal, em ratos, após plicatura ordenada no íleo. Foram utilizados 31 ratos albinos distribuídos em três grupos submetidos ao mesmo experimento: grupo A - animais reoperados no 10º pós-operatório da plicatura ileal ordenada; grupo B - animais reoperados no 20º pós-operatório; grupo C - animais reoperados no 60º pós-operatório. Realizou-se plicatura ordenada do íleo, em quatro segmentos intestinais com 2cm de extensão cada. Na reoperação procedeu-se à secção, em peça única, dos segmentos intestinais plicados, do segmento jejunal pré-plicatura e do segmento ileal pós-plicatura. Utilizou-se dois quimógrafos para registro simultâneo das ondas intestinais espontâneas. Foram analisadas as freqüências das ondas fisiológicas do tipo I, II e III nos segmentos do jejuno proximal e do íleo distal nos grupos A, B e C, separadamente e em conjunto. O estudo estatístico foi realizado pelos métodos não paramétricos de Kruskal-Wallis, Friedman e Wilcoxon. Os resultados do presente experimento permitiram concluir que a plicatura ileal parcial ordenada não interferiu de maneira definitiva nos movimentos intestinais espontâneos representados pelas ondas tipos I, II e III no segmento jejunal pré plicatura e no segmento ileal pós plicatura após dois meses do procedimento.

Two-dimensional alterations of myenteric plexus in jejunoileal atresia

PURPOSE

The purpose of this report is to investigate changes in the myenteric plexus associated with the dilated proximal segment of jejunoileal atresia (JA). Two-dimensional morphologic changes in the myenteric nerve plexuses were investigated using whole-mount preparation.

METHODS

Proximal (P) and distal (D) intestinal segments from 7 cases with JA and control (C) segments from 5 postmortem neonates were investigated. The circumference of the jejunoileal segments was measured after fixation. Antibodies for protein gene product 9.5 and neurofilament protein were used in whole-mount preparation. The sizes of neural networks were calculated by measuring the longest circular distance in a neural network (x) and the longest longitudinal distance (y), and the width of the internodal strands (i) with a videomicrometer.

RESULTS

Median circumference of the segments was 8.5 in P, 2.0 in D, and 2.0 cm in C. The neural networks in P were expanded longitudinally as well as circularly (x = 817.10 microm, y = 561.26, i = 31.04: median) while comparing them to those in D (x = 431.40 microm y = 288.07, i = 26.05) or C (x = 285.03 microm y = 372.20, c = 1113.57, i = 32.39). The nerve plexus was less expanded than the intestinal wall.

CONCLUSIONS

Proximal intestinal segments showed a restructuring that resulted in mild hypoplasia of the enteric nerve plexuses in the proximal segments. The less expansion of the myenteric nerve plexus seen in the proximal bowel in infants with JA suggests a histologic basis for the efficacy of tapering or plication of the dilated bowel.

Abnormalities of enteric neurons, intestinal pacemaker cells, and smooth muscle in human intestinal atresia

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE

Intestinal dysmotility, which usually has been encountered in the severely dilated proximal segment, is an important problem in postoperative management of patients with intestinal atresia (IA). Changes of enteric nerves had been histochemically examined in both the proximal and distal segments of IA, but a systemic immunohistochemical analysis is still lacking. The aim of this study was to examine precisely alterations of neuronal and muscular elements and pacemaker cells in intestines from patients with IA.

METHODS

Resected intestines were obtained from 5 patients with ileal atresia, 3 patients with jejunal atresia, and 3 controls without gastrointestinal diseases (congenital diaphragmatic hernia). All specimens were immunochemically stained with a monoclonal antibody to alpha-smooth muscle actin (SMA) as a smooth muscle marker, polyclonal antibodies to protein gene product (PGP) 9.5 as a general neuronal marker, and to c-kit protein as a maker of intestinal pacemaker cells. In addition, all specimens also were stained by NADPH-diaphorase (NADPH-d) to know the distribution of inhibitory nitrergic nerves.

RESULTS

A hypoplasia of the myenteric ganglia and a marked reduction of intramuscular nerve fibers, including nitrergic neurons, were observed in the dilated proximal segment of IA. C-kit-positive cells were localized around the myenteric plexus, but rarely found within the muscularis propria in the proximal segment. The distribution of nerves and c-kit-positive cells in the distal segment was comparable with that seen in controls. A reduced staining intensity for alpha-SMA was mainly observed in the hypertrophic circular muscle layer of the proximal segment.

CONCLUSIONS

A hypoplasia of intramural nerves and pacemaker cells was seen predominantly in the proximal segments of IA. Hypertrophy and reduced immunoreactivity for alpha-SMA also were observed in the circular muscle layer of the proximal segment. These alterations of the proximal segment may thus contribute to the postoperative intestinal dysmotility in IA cases.

Alterations of the intramural nervous distributions in a chick intestinal atresia model

The postoperative intestinal dysmotility seen in intestinal atresia (IA) is usually found in association with a dilatation of the proximal intestinal segment, but the etiology of this disorder is not yet fully understood. A chick IA model was made by cutting the postumbilical midgut on d 11 in ovo. The operated chicks were euthanized 2 d after hatching. The samples were divided into two groups according to the extent of the dilatation of proximal ileal segments. Cryostat sections were processed for immunohistochemistry by the use of antisera to protein gene product 9.5, vasoactive intestinal polypeptide, substance-P, and alpha-smooth muscle actin and were also stained by NADPH-diaphorase. Tn highly dilated proximal segments, a decreased number of protein gene product 9.5-positive fibers was found in both the circular muscle and submucous layers. The number of nerve fibers positive for vasoactive intestinal polypeptide, substance-P, and NADPH-diaphorase also decreased in the circular muscle layer, particularly in the deep muscular plexus. Hypertrophy and an alteration of the staining intensities in the circular muscle layer were also revealed by a-smooth muscle actin staining. The nerve distribution of the distal segments was indistinguishable from that of the age-matched controls and the sham-operated group. Abnormalities in the intramural nerves are only found in the proximal ileal segment of the IA models. The abnormal nerve distribution of the proximal segment might thus be implicated in the postoperative dysmotility of the intestine in IA.

The relationship between disturbed transit and dilated bowel, and manometric findings of dilated bowel in patients with duodenal atresia and stenosis

To determine whether dilated bowel proximal to obstruction associated with duodenal atresia and stenosis is related to feeding problems after a surgical correction of obstruction, the authors reviewed retrospectively the degree of bowel dilatation and disturbed transit as well as other clinical features in 18 duodenal atresia and 12 duodenal stenosis patients. A multivariate analysis was conducted to determine the possible correlation among them. The authors also evaluated the physiological function of the dilated bowel in duodenal atresia and stenosis patients (n = 8) by manometry of dilated bowel. The results were as follows. (1) In multivariate analysis, using the degree of disturbed transit as a dependent variable and using other clinical features as independent variables, the presence of postoperative complication and the existence of bowel dilatation 2 weeks after the operation were risk factors for disturbed transit. (2) One or two episodes of phase 3 were found in six of eight measured patients during the recorded period. The most distinctive manometric finding was the low contraction amplitude of both phase 2 and phase 3. These results indicate that dilated bowel was related to disturbed transit during the postoperative period, and that the low contraction amplitude of the dilated bowel was the main pathophysiological feature. The tapering or plication of dilated bowel might be indicated in patients with a markedly dilated bowel.