Hirschsprung's disease

Hirschsprung's disease: Introduction

Hirschsprung's disease: Hirschsprung's (HURSH-sprungz) disease, or HD, is a disease of the large intestine.

The large intestine is also sometimes called the ... more about Hirschsprung's disease.

Hirschsprung's disease: A rare condition where abnormalities in the bowel muscles prevent it from contracting normally and pushing the fecal matter through which results in obstruction and dilation of the bowel. More detailed information about the symptoms, causes, and treatments of Hirschsprung's disease is available below.

Symptoms of Hirschsprung's disease

• Constipation
• Stool impaction
• Anemia
• Symptoms in children include:
  • Constipation
• more symptoms...»

See full list of 26 symptoms of Hirschsprung's disease

Home Diagnostic Testing

Home medical testing related to Hirschsprung's disease:

• Child Behavior: Home Testing
  • ADHD -- Home Test Kits
  • Concentration -- Home Testing
• Child General Health: Home Testing
  • Asthma-Related Home Tests
  • Home Allergy Tests
  • Home Cold & Flu Tests
  • Home Diabetes Tests
  • Home Drug Tests
  • Sleep Apnea Tests
  • Home Strep A Tests
  • Home Hearing Tests
  • Home Ear Infection Tests
• Colon & Rectal Cancer: Home Testing
  • Home Colorectal Cancer Tests
  • Home Fecal Occult Bleeding Tests
• Cold & Flu: Home Testing:
  • Home Fever Tests
  • Home Ear Infection Test Kits
  • Home Flu Tests
• Food Allergies & Intolerances: Home Testing:
  • Home Food Allergy Tests
  • Home Food Intolerance Testing
  • Home Water Testing
  • Home Lead Poisoning Tests
  • Home Heavy Metal Poisoning Tests
• Digestive-Related Home Testing:
  • Home Stomach Ulcer Tests
  • Home Colorectal Cancer Test Kits
  • Home Fecal Occult Bleeding Test Kits
• more tests...»

Hirschsprung's disease: Complications

Review possible medical complications related to Hirschsprung's disease:

• Constipation
• Stool impaction
• Intestinal infections (see Digestive symptoms)
• Anemia
• Enterocolitis
• Toxic enterocolitis
• more complications...»

Medical Textbooks Online about Hirschsprung's disease

Book excerpts: Copyright © 2008 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.

Diagnostic Tests for Hirschsprung's disease

• Barium enema x-ray
• Colonoscopy
• Manometry
• Intestine biopsy
• more tests...»

Read more about tests for Hirschsprung's disease

Wrongly Diagnosed with Hirschsprung's disease?

• Misdiagnosis of Hirschsprung's disease
• Failure to diagnose Hirschsprung's disease
• Hidden causes of Hirschsprung's disease (possibly wrongly diagnosed)
• Undiagnosed: Hirschsprung's disease

Hirschsprung's disease: Marketplace Products, Discounts & Offers

Products, offers and promotion categories available for Hirschsprung's disease:

• Digestive Health
• more product offers...»

Hirschsprung's disease: Undiagnosed Conditions

Commonly undiagnosed diseases in related medical categories:

• Chronic Digestive Disorders that can remain Undiagnosed:
  • Crohn's Disease -- Undiagnosed
  • Ulcerative Colitis -- Undiagnosed
  • Celiac Disease -- Undiagnosed
  • Heartburn -- Undiagnosed
  • GERD -- Undiagnosed
  • Inflammatory Bowel Disease -- Undiagnosed
  • Irritable Bowel Syndrome -- Undiagnosed
  • Carcinoid Syndrome -- Undiagnosed
  • Pancreatitis -- Undiagnosed
• more undiagnosed conditions...»

Misdiagnosis and Hirschsprung's disease

Mild worm infections undiagnosed in children: Human worm infestations, esp. threadworm, can be overlooked in some cases, because it may cause only mild or even...read more »

Chronic digestive conditions often misdiagnosed: When diagnosing chronic symptoms of the digestive tract, there are a variety of conditions that may be misdiagnosed. The best known,...read more »

Intestinal bacteria disorder may be hidden cause: One of the lesser known causes of diarrhea is an imbalance of bacterial in the gut, sometimes called intestinal...read more »

Antibiotics often causes diarrhea: The use of antibiotics are very likely to cause some level of diarrhea in patients. The reason is that antibiotics kill off not only "bad"...read more »

Food poisoning may actually be an infectious disease: Many people who come down with "stomach symptoms" like diarrhea assume that it's ...read more »

Mesenteric adenitis misdiagnosed as appendicitis in children: Because appendicitis is one of the more feared conditions for a child with abdominal pain, it can be over-diagnosed (it can, of course, also fail to be...read more »

Blood pressure cuffs misdiagnose hypertension in children: One known misdiagnosis issue with hyperension, arises in relation to the simple equipment used to test blood pressure. The "cuff" around the arm to measure blood pressure can...read more »

Celiac disease often fails to be diagnosed cause of chronic digestive symptoms: One of the most common chronic digestive conditions is celiac disease, a malabsorption disorder with a variety of...read more »

Children with migraine often misdiagnosed: A migraine often fails to be correctly diagnosed in pediatric patients. These patients are not the typical migraine sufferers, but migraines...read more »

Chronic digestive diseases hard to diagnose: There is an inherent difficulty in diagnosing the various types of chronic digestive diseases. Some of the better known...read more »

Read more about Misdiagnosis and Hirschsprung's disease

Hirschsprung's disease: Research Doctors & Specialists

Research related physicians and medical specialists:

• Child Health Specialists (Pediatrics):
  • Pediatrics (Child Health Specialist)
  • Adolescent Medicine (Teen Health)
  • Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine
  • Pediatric / Adolescent Psychiatry (Child/Teen Mental Health)
  • Pediatric Allergy and Immunology (Child Allergies / Immune Diseases)
  • Pediatric Cardiology (Child Heart Specialists)
  • Pediatric Critical Care Medicine
  • Pediatric Dentistry (Child Dental Health)
  • Pediatric Dermatology (Child Skin Health)
  • Pediatric Developmental Behavioral Health (Child Behavior)
  • Pediatric Emergency Medicine
  • Pediatric Endocrinology (Child Hormones)
  • Pediatric Gastroenterology (Child Digestive Specialists)
  • Pediatric Hematology / Oncology
  • Pediatric Infectious Disease Medicine
  • Pediatric Medical Toxicology (Child Poisoning)
  • Pediatric Nephrology (Child Kidney Specialists)
  • Pediatric Neurology (Child Brain Specialists)
  • Pediatric Neurosurgery (Child Brain Surgeon)
• more specialists...»

Other doctor, physician and specialist research services:

• Rate Your Doctor Online
• Research Your Doctor Online
• Review Patient Surveys About Your Doctor
• Research local specialists including ratings, affiliations, and sanctions.

Hospitals & Clinics: Hirschsprung's disease

Research quality ratings and patient safety measures for medical facilities in specialties related to Hirschsprung's disease:

• Digestive Health (Gastroenterology) -- Hospital Quality Ratings
• Child Health (Pediatrics) -- Hospital Quality Ratings
• more hospital ratings...»

Hospital & Clinic quality ratings » »

Choosing the Best Hospital: More general information, not necessarily in relation to Hirschsprung's disease, on hospital performance and surgical care quality:

• 50 Best Hospitals Report
• Outstanding Patient Experinece Award Winning Hospitals
• Women's Health Best Hospitals
• Patient Safety
• Hospital Quality and Clinical Excellence Study (2009)

Hirschsprung's disease: Rare Types

Rare types of diseases and disorders in related medical categories:

• Chronic Digestive Disorders -- Rare Types:
  • Crohn's Disease -- Rare Types
  • Ulcerative Colitis -- Rare Types
  • Celiac Disease -- Rare Types
  • Inflammatory Bowel Disease -- Rare Types
  • Irritable Bowel Syndrome -- Rare Types
  • Carcinoid Syndrome -- Rare Types
  • Pancreatitis -- Rare Types
  • Gallstones -- Rare Types
  • Lactose Intolerance -- Rare Types
• more rare diseases...»

Causes of Hirschsprung's disease

Read more about causes of Hirschsprung's disease.

More information about causes of Hirschsprung's disease:

• Hirschsprung's disease as a symptom

Treatments for Hirschsprung's disease

• Pull-through surgery - there are a few types of this surgery:
  • Swenson procedure
  • Soave procedure
  • Duhamel procedure
• Ostomy
• more treatments...»

See full list of 8 treatments for Hirschsprung's disease

Evidence Based Medicine Research for Hirschsprung's disease

Medical research articles related to Hirschsprung's disease include:

• Constipation in Children
• Constipation
• Encopresis
• Acticon artificial bowel sphincter
• What are the recommendations for a two-week old baby who has constipation which is not resolving with extra cooled boiled water?
• Soiling: Patient Information
• Soiling
• Volvulus (Treatment)
• more research...»

Click here to find more evidence-based articles on the TRIP Database

Videos for Hirschsprung's disease

Patient Surveys for Hirschsprung's disease

• Patient Profile Survey
  Take Survey  View Results
• Survey about the symptoms of your Hirschsprung's disease
  Take Survey  View Results

Reseach about Hirschsprung's disease

Visit our research pages for current research about Hirschsprung's disease treatments.

Hirschsprung's disease: Broader Related Topics

• Digestive Diseases
• Bowel conditions
• Colon conditions
• more types...»

Types of Hirschsprung's disease

Types of Hirschsprung's disease

• Long-segment disease
• Short-segment disease
• more types...»

Read more about Types of Hirschsprung's disease

Stories from Users Related to Hirschsprung's disease

• hirschsprung's disease
• possible hirschsprungs; need genetic tests

Related forums and medical stories:

• Colon Conditions (35)
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  • Constipation, gas, bloating, pain
  • Mucus in Stool
  • bleeding from anus
  • More user stories

User Interactive Forums

Read about other experiences, ask a question about Hirschsprung's disease, or answer someone else's question, on our message boards:

• I can not get a diagnosis. Please help.
• Tell us your medical story.
• Share your misdiagnosis story.
• What is the best treatment for this?
• See all the forums.

Article Excerpts about Hirschsprung's disease

Hirschsprung's (HURSH-sprungz) disease, or HD, is a disease of the large intestine.

The large intestine is also sometimes called the colon. The word bowel can refer to the large and small intestines. HD usually occurs in children. It causes constipation, which means that bowel movements are difficult. Some children with HD can't have bowel movements at all. The stool creates a blockage in the intestine. (Source: excerpt from What I need to know about Hirschsprung's disease: NIDDK)

Definitions of Hirschsprung's disease:

Congenital MEGACOLON resulting from the absence of ganglion cells (aganglionosis) in a distal segment of the LARGE INTESTINE. The aganglionic segment is permanently contracted thus causing dilatation proximal to it. In most cases, the aganglionic segment is within the RECTUM and SIGMOID COLON. - (Source - Diseases Database)

Congenital condition in which the colon does not have the normal network of nerves; there is little urge to defecate so the feces accumulate and cause megacolon - (Source - WordNet 2.1)

Hirschsprung's disease is listed as a "rare disease" by the Office of Rare Diseases (ORD) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This means that Hirschsprung's disease, or a subtype of Hirschsprung's disease, affects less than 200,000 people in the US population.
Source - National Institutes of Health (NIH)