Patient's question:
A child who is one and a half months old has congenital megacolon. The doctor said to wait for three or four months to have surgery. Can it be done now?Doctor's answer:
If it is congenital megacolon, it would be long-segment or total colon type megacolon, or relatively severe congenital intestinal neuronal dysplasia, which may involve the entire digestive tract, making the colostomy surgery unavoidable. During the surgery, extensive intestinal wall tissue biopsies should be performed to confirm the diagnosis, and the surgery should be postponed until the child is 3 months old. Our hospital has conducted relevant statistics, and the surgical outcomes, complications, and sequelae of megacolon surgery in the neonatal period are worse than those in children after 3 months. Therefore, we recommend performing elective surgery after the child is 3 months old. This point is also recognized internationally.