A beautiful three year old little girl was born with an abnormal connection of her bowel to her perineum and a very dilated segment of bowel in the pelvis. This resulted in problems with constipation and soiling as she was unable to control her bowel action. She needed both repair of the abnormal anatomy to make her look normal and to enable her to be continent of faeces.
A barium enema, (a test where contrast/dye is placed in the lower bowel and x-rays are taken), confirmed the huge size of her rectum, which was also confirmed during the initial part of her surgery. The dilated bowel was removed through the second part of the operation, designed to establish continence and restore normal anatomy. The normal part of the bowel was sutured to the skin, without the formation of a colostomy.
The girl had benefited from the Kind Cuts for Kids team’s experience with complex cases of such anorectal anomalies. Therefore she was spared the formation of a colostomy and the ongoing problem of constipation and soiling that is seen when the dilated segment is retained. The lessons learnt by the Kind Cuts for Kids surgical team have also been applied to Australian children and the knowledge shared through publication in international surgical journals.
The girl can now lead a normal life, fully continent and healthy. She can attend school and do all the activities that her friends can.
