الفهرس | Only 14 pages are availabe for public view |
Abstract Hirschsprung’s disease is a devastating problem in infancy and childhood. It should be suspected in any case of chronic constipation. It is characterized by absence of nerve ganglia in the distal segment of the gastrointestinal tract and the presence of hypertrophic non-myelinated nerve fibers. The typical case suffers from delayed passage of meconium, constipation dating since birth, distension and frequent attacks of intestinal obstruction The infant never soils. Soiling is a good evidence against Hirschsprung’s disease, but, passage of meconium at birth doesn’t rule out the diagnosis. The typical radiological picture in barium enema studies is the presence of narrow distal segment, dilated proximal segment, a transition zone in between and barium retention ill the delayed films especially ifmixed with stool. Transition zone is a good positive sign. Barium retention in the delayed fi Ims is of especial importance in neonates where the transition zone is not well apparent. |