Congenital Pouch Colon: Role of Genetics or Environmental Influence?

Congenital pouch colon in Duhok, outcome and complications: Case series

Background

Congenital pouch colon (CPC) is a rare congenital abnormality associated with anorectal malformations with high incidence of complications and mortality. The aim of this study is to describe the various types of congenital colon pouch, their management aspects, complications of surgery, and the best management options.

Results

The incidence of congenital pouch colon in the present study was 5.3% (18 patients) of all anorectal malformations. Sixteen cases (88.8%) were males and 2 cases (12.5%) were females, (M: F ratio was 8:1). The age of presentation was ranged from 1day to 1year; 17 cases were presented in first week of life. Preoperative diagnosis of congenital pouch colon was done in 7 patients. As an initial procedure tabularization of the pouch with end colostomy was done in 15 cases, window colostomy was done in 2 cases, and excision of the pouch and proximal ileostomy was done in one patient. As a definitive procedure, abdomino-perineal pull-through of the tabularized pouch was done in 15 cases, ileo-anal anastomosis after pouch excision was done in 3 cases.

Conclusions

Pouch tabularization and end colostomy had better outcome than other types of interventions. Abdomino-perineal pull through of the tabularized pouch was the definitive surgical procedure for treatment of complete pouch colon in our study.

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Congenital pouch colon is a rare disease that requires early diagnosis and treatment.

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Window colostomy at the pouch is better to be avoided due to high incidence of complications.

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Pouch tabularization and end colostomy has better outcome than other types of interventions.

Is Pouch Specific to Colon and Not Ileum?

BACKGROUND

Congenital Pouch Colon (CPC) is an anorectal anomaly with an incidence of 3.5:1 in males and females, respectively. We have earlier reported CPC to be quite prevalent in north Indian tertiary care centers.

OBJECTIVE

In this article, we deliberate on the possible causes associated with CPC bringing the manifestation of the disease. In addition, we throw insights on the effective role of this congenital anomaly in Colon and provide systems genomic evaluation by comparing our recent analysis to that of Colon and Ileum based on Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) studies.

CONCLUSION

In this commentary article, we argue that a host of epigenetic factors could be the reason why the disease is manifested in colon alone. We further hypothesize on the few unmet challenges linking epigenetics to understand the genetic variants.