A CASE OF SIGMOID VOLVULUS SECONDARY TO HIRSCHSPRUNGS-DISEASE

We report a case of sigmoid volvulus accompanied by undiagnosed Hirsch sprung's disease (HD). A 3-year-old boy who had had chronic constipati on since birth was admitted because of progressive abdominal distentio n and obstipation. A plain abdominal film was compatible with megacolo n and distal obstruction. Sigmoid volvulus secondary to HD was found a t emergency laparotomy, and a colostomy was performed after detorsion. A Soave procedure performed 3 months later yielded complete loss of s ymptoms. Whenever an operation for sigmoid volvulus is performed in ch ildren, a frozen biopsy section of distal colon to exclude HD is recom mended.