A Mumbai-based hospital performed a rare endoscopic procedure to provide relief to a two-year-old boy, who was unable to pass stool naturally.
The child suffered from severe constipation, weight loss and a dangerously swollen abdomen. Despite multiple medications and daily enemas, his condition never improved. Further tests confirmed that the child was suffering from Hirschsprung’s disease — a congenital condition where nerve cells vital for bowel movement are missing from parts of the large intestine.
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Doctors in Mumbai treated the baby through a scarless endoscopic procedure called Per-Rectal Endoscopic Myotomy (PREM) at Gleneagles Hospital. Globally, only 13 such procedures have been reported, and this is the first case to be treated by the endoscopic method in Mumbai, Decan Herald reported.
The boy is now leading a normal life after the procedure and can now pass stools naturally. He is free from abdominal pain and swelling and no longer needs further medical intervention.
Hirschsprung’s disease occurs when nerve cells (ganglion cells) in the lower part of the large intestine fail to develop, causing stool to accumulate, leading to blockage and chronic constipation. There is no medical management for it. In very young babies, delayed passage of the first green stool can be an early sign.
