Surgical treatment of Hirschsprung's disease in adults.

A series of eight adult patients with lifelong refractory constipation are presented. All were proved to have Hirschsprung's disease. In some of the patients, the diagnosis was initially determined in childhood. However, the other patients were not found to have this hereditary disorder of the motor function of the colon and rectum until adulthood. The lengths of the terminal aganglionic segments were quite variable, ranging from 2 to more than 25 centimeters. Rectal myectomy alone or in combination with anterior resection proved to be curative and obviated the need for extensive pelvic dissection which otherwise would be hazardous in male patients.