hirschsprung's disease…

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digestive system, large intestine, congenital megacolon, hirschsprung's disease, obstruction, the large intestine, inadequate motility, muscular movement, the bowel, occurs, a congenital, present at birth, digested matter, passes, the intestine, the rhythmic contraction, the muscles that line the gut, peristalsis, muscles, stimulated to contract by nerve bundles, ganglia, located between the muscle layers, in hirschsprung's disease, ganglia, missing, from only a few centimeters of bowel, from long segments of bowel, segments, no peristalsis, not pass any digested matter beyond that point, result, the bowel cannot push material, effectively obstructed, intestinal contents accumulate behind the obstruction, causing the bowel, abdomen to, become distended, condition is severe, newborn, fail to pass meconium, stool, newborn, vomit, milder cases, not be diagnosed, a later age, in older children, disease characterized by chronic constipation, abdominal distention, decreased growth rate, hirschsprung's disease causes, one fourth of all newborn intestinal obstruction, not be detected, later in infancy, childhood, occurs 5 times more frequently in males than in females, hirschsprung's disease is sometimes associated, inherited, congenital conditions down syndrome, failure to pass meconium shortly after birth, failure to pass a first stool, 24, 48 hours after birth, constipation, abdominal distention, vomiting, watery diarrhea, newborn, poor weight gain, slow growth, child 0-5 years, malabsorption, a physical examination, doctor able to feel loops of bowel, in the distended abdomen, a rectal examination, detect a loss of muscle tone, in the rectal muscles, tests used, in the diagnosis of hirschsprung's disease, abdominal x-ray, showing distention of colon, gas, feces, barium enema, anal manometry, a balloon is dilated, in the rectum to measure the anal sphincter pressure, rectal biopsy, showing absence of ganglion nerve cells, abnormal section of colon must be surgically removed, accomplished, a single operation, frequently performed, a two-staged procedure, a colostomy performed, time of diagnosis, a definitive procedure performed later, in the first year of life, eliminated in 90% of children after surgical treatment, a better outcome is associated, early treatment, shorter bowel segment involvement, perforation, the intestine, enterocolitis, short gut syndrome, call child's health care provider, symptoms suggestive of hirschsprung's disease develop, call child's health care provider, abdominal pain, new symptoms develop after treatment, hirschsprung's disease.