treatment and post-operative complications of congenital megacolon: a nine year follow-up of abdominal-perineal pull-through operation

ABSTRACT

During a 10 year period, from 1980 until 1989, 74 patients with congenital megacolon were treated by abdomino-perineal resection [Swenson's operation] at Taleghani Medical Center Pediatric Surgery Unit, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences. Fifty of the patients were last interviewed and examined more than 5 years after resection. There were 2 post-operative deaths and 3 late deaths from enterocolitis. Both early and late complications were infrequent and are discussed in detail. Almost 90% of the patients reported that they gained normal bowel habits. None of the patients developed urinary incontinence, although 4 reported permanent fecal soiling. This is the first large group of patients in this country treated for congenital megacolon and followed for at least 5 years. Low incidence of post-operative complication indicates that Swenson's operation is a safe, effective method of treatment for congenital megacolon