A Chinese boy has had a section of his intestines removed, which was filled with excrement the size of a basketball.
The eight-year-old, who had not been able to defecate or eat for a month, was taken to hospital by his parents two weeks ago.
A part of his colon, weighing 3kg (6.6 lbs), was taken out from his stomach during a three-hour surgical operation in east China.
The eight-year-old boy, Yuan Yuan, had been suffering from constipation since birth
According to Kan Kan News, the boy, who is known as Yuan Yuan from Dongyang, Zhejiang Province, had been suffering from constipation since birth.
In the past seven years, Yuan Yuan’s stomach would swell whenever he ate. He also found it difficult to defecate and felt his belly ‘was about to explode’.
Dr Lu Guojian, surgeon at Dongyang Women and Children Hospital, examined Yuan Yuan. They said Yuan Yuan had Hirschsprung’s disease, also known as congenital megacolon.
Hirschsprung’s disease is related to the missing of nerve cells that can control the bowel muscles for excretion, stated the NHS.
The swollen intestines has already taken up half of the abdomen and pressed onto Yuan Yuan’s lungs and liver.
His intestines are filled with excrement and seen swelling up in the abdomen area (left). Doctors performed a three-hour surgery to remove a 7lb stool from his body (right)
Yuan Yuan is now recovering from the surgery and will be able to excrete from now on
Dr Lu performed surgery on Yuan Yuan and recalled that the swollen intestines ‘popped’ out due to the pressure in the abdomen.
Under the three-hour precedure, a 60-centimetre-long (1.96 ft) , 12-centimetre-wide (4.7 inches) intestine was successfully removed from Yuan Yuan’s stomach. It was said to be filled with faeces and food residue.
The seven-pound megacolon is around the size of a basketball.
Yuan Yuan is now recovering from the surgery. Doctors said he should no longer suffer from constipation.
Dr Lu reminded new parents that they should notice signs of Hirschsprung’s disease in a newborn baby or infant.
Symptoms such as failing to pass meconium, having dark-green faeces within the first 48 hours after birth, a swollen belly and persistent constipation can be related to Hirschsprung’s disease.
However, doctors said it could also be a genetic disease.