It is a disease of the large intestine that occurs due to poor muscle movement in the intestine.
It is a genetic disorder characterised by the absence of nerves that facilitate motility in a part of the intestine. Areas lacking such nerves are unable to push the food matter, causing a blockage. The intestinal contents accumulate behind the blockade.The bowel and abdomen swell up as a result.
Symptoms in newborns and infants include difficulty with bowel movements, difficulty in removing meconium, difficulty in eliminating first deposition within 24-48 hours after birth, explosive and infrequent stool, jaundice, poor food intake, poor weight gain, vomiting, watery diarrhoea (in the newborn). In older children it can manifest with constipation that gradually worsens, faecal retention, malnutrition, slow growth and a swollen belly.
The diagnosis is reached through the patient's clinical history, a physical examination and additional tests such as an abdominal X-ray, an anal manometry, a barium enema and a biopsy of the rectum.
The treatment is based on surgery and involves the resection of the affected colon segment.
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