Hi, Mark!  Awhile ago you wrote in a message to Ardith Hinton:

MH>  Hirschsprung's is when there are no Ganglion cells present
MH>  in a section of the bowel.  Normally, these cells migrate
MH>  down the entire bowel before birth.  For unknown reasons,
MH>  in people with Hirschrung's, the migration stops too soon
MH>  and doesn't go all the way to the end.


          Ah.  Is it possible the cell migration might continue, in some cases
at least, outside the womb??  I'm curious re this detail because Nora was born
with a couple of heart defects... perhaps caused by delayed development and/or
by her appearing a little sooner than the doctors expected.  These were things
many children outgrow by the age of three or four, as did she.  And as long as
the symptoms are fairly minor surgery is not an option unless tincture of time
has established that the problem won't go away without such intervention.  :-)



MH>  The "transition zone" is the area of the bowel that goes from
MH>  having the Ganglion cells (which are needed for mobility) to
MH>  where there are none.  The Ganglion cells tell your brain
MH>  (automatically) that something is there and "move it along".
MH>  Without these cells, the only way to get things moving is a
MH>  manual/physical stimulation like an enema.


          A very good explanation IMHO... clear, concise, and to the point!  I
see you're well informed about your son's condition & I heartily approve.  :-)



MH>  We just had an abdomen xray this past weekend.  The official
MH>  results are not in yet, but from what I saw - the plan appears
MH>  to be working!  The area is not only not as wide, but not as
MH>  long either.  By a good inch or two.


          Sounds as if you're onto something.  Hang in there....  :-)



MH>  The less that needs to be removed, the better the long term
MH>  success.


          And the shorter the recovery period, I imagine....  :-)



MH>  There is about 6 inches that have no cells that have to go.
MH>  There is another 6 inches that is distended - of good working
MH>  bowel.  If we can get that to maybe 2-3 inches, that would
MH>  really help.  From what we have been told, you can have up to
MH>  12" of bowel removed with no real long term side effects.


          Whew!  That's a great relief AFAIC.  Years ago my mother had a chunk
of bowel removed for a different reason.  I don't know how much was removed in
her case because she & my father generally kept quiet about their ailments.  I
knew the diagnosis because she asked me to look it up for her, but I concluded
she'd had surgery when I noticed later... along with other factors... that she
seemed reluctant to venture far from her usual stomping grounds *where she was
acquainted with various washrooms she could get to on short notice*.

          I am glad to hear such difficulties are unlikely in your son's case,
since the affected area is 12" or less.  If I were in your shoes, however, I'd
also want some margin for error and/or for caution on the surgeon's part.  ;-)




--- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+
 * Origin: Wits' End, Vancouver CANADA (1:153/716)