Background: The association of Hirschsprung's disease with anorectal malformation (ARM) is both diagnostically and surgically challenging, in addition to it being a rarity. Symptoms attributable to post-repair of ARM may mask the underlying Hirschsprung's disease (HD) and become worse after closure of stoma. We aim to highlight this rare finding, the challenges associated with the management and the consequent multiple surgeries the patient underwent.
Case Presentation: We report the case of a seven-year-old boy who had a diverting Devine descending colostomy for high ARM and was followed up until he had a posterior sagittal anorectoplasty (PSARP). He thereafter re-presented with complaints of intermittent constipation which was not responsive to rectal washout necessitating a levelling colostomy and subsequently an abdominal Swenson's pull-through procedure. Postoperative period was complicated with a colo-urethral fistula (Urethroscopy findings https://youtu.be/lxzyp1uHFpE?feature=shared) necessitating multiple staged surgeries. He has been followed up in clinic for over one-year post-surgery with complaints relating to frequent bowel motion, passes well-formed stool about three times daily. We report a rare case of HD associated with ARM, highlighting the delay in diagnosis, the associated morbidities requiring multiple surgeries and the challenges encountered in the management of the patient.
Conclusion: Hirschsprung's disease in a patient with anorectal malformation is a very rare occurrence, which can be fraught with delayed diagnosis and consequences as a result of the previous anorectoplasty. There is need to have a high index of suspicion and we hope this report will help raise the awareness of this association.
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Arch Pathol Lab Med
March 2025
From the Departments of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology (Kapur) and Pediatric Surgery (Smith), Seattle Children's Hospital and University of Washington, Seattle.
Context.—: Surgery for Hirschsprung disease includes resection of the aganglionic bowel and adjacent transition zone (ganglionic bowel with partial circumferential aganglionosis, myenteric hypoganglionosis, and/or submucosal nerve hypertrophy). Pathology practices, including intraoperative frozen sections and sampling of resection specimens and accurate recognition and reporting of transition zone histopathology, are necessary to both prevent and diagnose incomplete resection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Pediatr Surg
March 2025
Department of Surgery, ANU Medical School, The Canberra Hospital, Garran ACT 2605, Australia. Electronic address:
The author comments on the recent paper by Cheng et al describing a series of MWS patients derived from a much larger series of HSCR patients. Children operated for HSCR with developmental delay suffer more difficulties than children without, but the literature varies on the outcomes associated with developmental delay such as Down syndrome and MWS. The author suggests that the degree of developmental delay has a bearing on outcome, and he further asks whether MWS has any particular features to make its prognosis different from other developmental delay syndromes associated with HSCR.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFront Pediatr
February 2025
Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Research in Structural Birth Defect Disease, Department of Pediatric Surgery, Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center, Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Child Health, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
Introduction: Hirschsprung Disease (HSCR) is a common congenital intestinal disease in pediatrics. Early diagnosis and treatment after birth alleviate the occurrence of complications. Consequently, we aim to identifiy a biomarker with ease of use, non-invasiveness, and highly accurate for diagnosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnn Diagn Pathol
March 2025
Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Department of Pathology, Mashhad, Iran. Electronic address:
Hirschsprung's disease (HSCR) is a congenital disorder of the intestine characterized by the absence of ganglion cells (GCs) in the myenteric and submucosal plexuses of the distal colon, leading to functional obstruction. The diagnosis of HSCR relies heavily on histopathological examination, yet pitfalls abound. Underdiagnosis can lead to delayed diagnosis, the need for reoperation, or risk of complications; conversely, overdiagnosis can lead to unnecessary surgery and its associated side effects.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnalyst
March 2025
Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Reims, Département de chirurgie pédiatrique, Reims, France.
Hirschsprung disease is a congenital anomaly characterised by an absence of innervation in the colon. The current diagnosis, which involves identifying the non-functional part of the colon through histological examination, is unsatisfactory. The objective of our study was to assess the potential of infrared spectroscopy as a label-free method to distinguish between functional and non-functional parts of the colon.
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