Long-term follow-up of Hirschsprung's disease: review of early and late complications.

OBJECTIVE Long term follow-up of Hirschsprung's disease to determine the early and late complications. DESIGN Retrospective. SETTING Tertiary care referral hospital. SUBJECTS Fifty children who underwent either Swenson's procedure [SP] (n = 16) or Martin's modification of Duhamel's procedure [MDP] (n = 34), for treatment of Hirschsprung's disease during the period 1981 through 1990. RESULTS Early complications observed were anastomotic leak (n = 4), stenosis (n = 8), wound infection (n = 8), and intestinal obstruction (n = 6). Follow-up period ranged from 2-10 years. Long term complications included constipation (n = 1), enterocolitis (n = 2), mild soiling (n = 4), and intestinal obstruction (n = 2). CONCLUSIONS Early complications were seen with equal frequency in patients with either SP or MDP but late complications were seen less often with the SP. Both SP and MDP were equally effective in the definitive treatment of Hirschprung's disease.