Definition:
Megacolon otherwise known as the Hirschsprung's disease, is a disease that usually hits the large intestine or the colon causing bowel movement problems.
Diagnosis:
Diagnosis includes undergoing abdominal X-ray, Barium Enema, Manometry, Rectal Suction Biopsy and Full-thickness Biopsy.
Treatment:
Treatments of the Megacolon includes undergoing surgery called the pull-through surgery which will remove the section of the colon that has no ganglia and thereafter connects the remaining colon to the rectum. Another s through Ostomy which will make a stoma or small hole in the person's abdomen and thereafter connects the colon to the stoma where the stool will pass through the stoma where a bag is attached.
Symptoms and Signs:
Its symptoms includes the following: unusually swelling abdomen, problem gaining weight, failure to absorb nutrients and colon infections. For new born babies the problem may manifest through the inability of the infant to release stool especially the first and second day after birth, constipation and gas problems including vomiting.
Causes:
The unusual and seemingly short length of the ganglia cause is still unknown. However, the condition is usually associated with the mutation of the genes and with the multiple endocrine neoplasia type IIB which causes tumors, though not cancerous in the mucous membranes and the adrenal glands.
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