Laparoscopic Management of Intestinal Obstruction due to a Tight Muscular Cuff Following Transanal Endorectal Pull-through for Hirschsprung's Disease

Abstract

Complications of Hirschsprung's disease's surgery include the general complications of any abdominal surgery, but one of the specific complications is obstruction, which occurs in 10% of children after surgical correction and can be due to a narrowing muscular cuff or a coloanal anastomotic stenosis. We report a case of a 4-month baby, diagnosed as suffering from Hirschsprung's disease, who developed postoperative constipation after transanal endorectal pull-through due to unusual folding of the muscular cuff, which narrowed the colon. A laparoscopic approach was performed. During the surgery, it was observed that the muscular cuff was rolled down, surrounding the neorectum. The anterior rectal cuff was completely divided from the pulled-through colon. After surgery, no intraluminal stenosis was revealed on digital rectal examination. A long and tight rectal muscular cuff could be the reason for postoperative obstructive side effects. The use of laparoscopy has the advantage of confirming the suspected diagnosis and a clear visualisation of the rectal cuff.