Delayed maturation of the interstitial cells of Cajal: a new diagnosis for transient neonatal pseudoobstruction. Report of two cases.

The case histories of two neonates presenting with intestinal pseudoobstruction are presented. One boy infant was premature and the girl infant was full term. Both patients needed a defunctioning ileostomy, and biopsy findings of the intestine in both patients showed a lack of interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC). At the time of closure of the ileostomies to restore intestinal continuity, repeat biopsy results showed a normal pattern of distribution of ICC. Delay in the development of ICC in the gastrointestinal tract may be a cause of intestinal pseudoobstruction in the newborn.