In a shocking incident, 13kg of faecal matter has been removed from the intestines of a 22-year-old man who has been constipated since his birth. The operation was performed in China. Reports added doctors removed a 30-inch long section of his colon filled with 13kg of faeces during the three-hour-long surgery. They said the man was taking laxatives, which provided only minor relief.
The man has been suffering from a rare congenital disease known as Hirschsprung- a condition usually diagnosed in newborns. This causes difficulty in passing bowel because of missing nerve cells in the colon. Chronic constipation leads to pile up of waste, creating what is known as a ‘megacolon’.
The condition is as such that if not treated early could lead to sepsis- a potentially life-threatening complication in which toxins get mixed with the bloodstream. However, this man’s diagnosis was delayed until adulthood as his parents considered it a ‘small ailment’.
The surgery was performed on June 8 and as per reports, the man’s colon had swollen so much that he looked as if he was more than nine months pregnant.
