Congenital stricture of the anus persisting into adult life: Acquired megalocolon

George Robertson
1922 British Journal of Surgery  
Operation.-Under general anaesthesia the left side of the scrotum was incised and turbid fluid evacuated from the cavity of the tunica vaginalis. The pedunculated hydatid of Morgagni was greatly swollen and blue-black. It was adherent by recent lymph to the testicle and epididymis. Its pedicle was twisted three times anti-clockwise, and arose from the junction of the testicle and epididymis ; but owing to the edema, the exact site of origin of the stalk could not be traced further. The pedicle
more » ... as ligatured and the mass removed. Except for a slight discharge of serum the wound healed by first intention. Pathological Report.-The specimen in the recent state measured 1; in. by 1 in. by f in. The pathological report is as follows : " The cyst contained deeply blood-stained fluid. The wall and pedicle were infiltrated with effused blood, which to a considerable extent masked the structure. The wall of the cyst was formed of fibrous tissue, and there appeared to be a thin lining of a single layer of flattened endothelium or epithelium." The stalked hydatid may vary in size and position, and more than one may be present. In this instance the size might be considered to be against the specimen actually being the stalked hydatid, but it corresponded exactly with it in anatomical situation, and no other hydatid was present. Mr. Edred M. Corner has kindly written to me about the matter, and states that there is one other case on record. Half of the specimen has been forwarded to the R.C.S. Museum, and the other half has been placed in the Surgery Museum a t Aberdeen University. The tunica vaginalis and skin were sutured. No culture of the fluid was made. THIS case was referred to me for treatment by a colleague on June 2 , 1921. The patient was a male, age 20. History.-From birth to the present time patient had suffered from dilliculty in defsecation. 'l'liis prominence has kept pace with his general growth, and recently has become more pronounced. At birth he suffered a head injury owing to difficult instrumental delivery, and his skull shows a marked deformity over the right frontoparietal region. He has never been very bright mentally, yet he is quite intelligent, and shows no definite degenerative stigmata. With the exception of the abdominal symptoms, colicky pains and difficult defaecation, he has had no other troubles. For some weeks before admission into hospital he had been suffering rather more than usual from abdominal pain. His appetite has always been good, and he has had no gastric disturbances. His general muscular development is poor. The whole abdomen is much distended. Over the whole abdomen one feels as if pressing on an extensive putty-like mass, into which the fingers can be made to sink deeply, thus to leave a visible indentation. In the csecal region, there is a special prominence, about the size of a small football ; this, on deep pressure, gives the same putty-like sensation as is felt in the other regions. This prominence is dull to percussion, No peristalsis is visible over the abdomen, except over the caecal prominence, which is seen t o rise and fall somewhat, but does not disappear. Operation.-A few days after admission I gave him a general anaesthetic, and then found, upon attempting to explore the rectum, that the tip of my forefinger was soon arrested, just inside the anus, by a very tight, wiry-edged annular stricture, having as its exact site the line of junction of skin and mucous membrane. Concluding that this, a t least, was a definite deformity, I incised the fibrous ring, and, more deeply, the sphincteric muscles. This was found greatly distended He was noticed, while quite a baby, to have a prominent abdomen. On Examination.-He shows a dry skin and a sallow complexion. He is slightly anaemic. Palpation gives a peculiar sensation to the examining hand. It was now easy to explore the rectum. 31 VOL. IX.--NO. 35.
doi:10.1002/bjs.1800093517 fatcat:5pjpn32w75cnffipk4mna2cx2i