Hirschsprung's disease in children: diagnosis and treatment

Abstract

Hirschsprung's disease is one of the most difficult problems in pediatric surgery and is a rare congenital disease that occurs in about 1 in 5,000 live births. At the same time, it is one of the most common causes of congenital intestinal obstruction in children [1]. The issue of diagnosis, treatment methods and results have been investigated since 1887, when Dr. Harrold Hirschsprung described 2 clinical cases in children who died from ulcers of the intestine, small rectum and colon.  At the same time, significant progress has been made in understanding its etiology in recent decades, thanks to the development of molecular genetics and new pathomorphological studies. The improvement of methods of diagnosis and treatment of Hirschsprung's disease has been developed due to the dynamic development of pathophysiology and early detection of the disease, as well as the development of surgical techniques. Surgical treatment has progressed from two- or three-stage operations to primary radical [2, 3, 4]. In newborns and young children, progressive methods of treating Hirschsprung's disease contribute to reducing mortality and improving treatment outcomes.