[Hirschsprung disease in the adult. Report of a case].
OBJECTIVE
To describe a case of Hirschsprung's disease (HD) in an adult patient.


BACKGROUND
HD is diagnosed in the newborn in 80 to 90% of cases. HD is rare in the adult, and usually affects an ultrashort segment of the bowel.


METHODS
A 49-year-old woman with a history of constipation since birth is involved. She was submitted to an abdominal laparotomy because of fecal impaction. A colostomy was performed. The diagnosis of HD affecting, the descending colon was established with manometry and histopathology. She underwent surgery, and a proctectomy and left hemicolectomy with colo-anal anastomosis was performed.


CONCLUSIONS
Adult HD is an infrequently diagnosed entity that must be suspected in a patient with chronic, intractable constipation from infancy, evidence of megacolon, and typical manometric and histopathologic features. The short and ultrashort-segment disease are more often found in older children and adults. The differential diagnosis includes idiopathic megarectum, functional constipation, and colonic pseudo-obstruction.
Icaza-Chávez
M E
ME
Departamento de Gastroenterología, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán.
Takahashi-Monroy
T
T
Uribe-Uribe
N
N
Hernández-Ortiz
J
J
Valdovinos
M A
MA
D001466:Barium Sulfate; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003125:Colostomy; D003248:Constipation / Q000209:etiology; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004733:Enema; D005244:Fecal Impaction / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006627:Hirschsprung Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D008365:Manometry; D008875:Middle Aged; D011859:Radiography
D001466:Barium Sulfate