A Rare Case of Intractable Constipation in a Child at HCMCT Manipal Hospital

A 13-year-old girl from Italy was successfully treated for intractable constipation at HCMCT Manipal Hospital, Dwarka, by Dr. Sufla Saxena, Consultant Pediatric Gastroenterologist and Hepatologist. The patient had a history of recurrent abdominal pain and chronic constipation on and off over 3 months which aggravated and got worse since one month. She had not passed stool for a month and was experiencing recurrent abdominal pain that did not respond to any medications. She was unable to attend school for almost three months and had been treated at two other large hospitals in the NCR region with little or no relief.

After meeting with Dr. Saxena, the patient underwent a full medical and endoscopic evaluation and was treated successfully. However, upon returning to Italy, she developed severe constipation again, and her family brought her back to Manipal. Dr. Sufla Saxena, along with a multidisciplinary team consisting of Dr. Thichen Kalden Lama, Head of Department – Paediatric Surgery and Dr. ML Bera, Head – Department of Radiology managed the child and performed a rectal biopsy to rule out Hirschsprung disease, manometry, and a genetic test to rule out any underlying congenital motility disorder. Fortunately, both the biopsy and the genetic test came back negative, ruling out these conditions.

The patient responded well to the treatment and motility agents, and after almost a month, she is now off all treatment. Throughout the treatment process, the patient’s father expressed his faith and gratitude towards Dr. Sufla Saxena, even though others had advised him not to go to India for treatment.

Dr. Sufla Saxena said, “This was a challenging case, but we were determined to find a solution for this young girl. We are thrilled that she is now feeling better and able to resume her normal activities.”

HCMCT Manipal Hospitals is committed to providing the highest level of care to patients, and this case is an excellent example of our dedication to our patients’ well-being.

About Manipal Hospital

As a pioneer in healthcare, Manipal Hospitals is among the top healthcare providers in India serving over 4.5 million patients annually. Its focus is to develop an affordable, high quality healthcare framework through its multispecialty and tertiary care delivery spectrum and further extend it to out of hospital care. With the completion of acquisition of 100% shareholding in Columbia Asia Hospitals Private Limited and Vikram Hospital (Bengaluru) Private Limited, the integrated network today has a pan-India footprint of 28 hospitals across 15 cities with 7,800+ beds, and a talented pool of 4,000 doctors and an employee strength of over 11,000.

Manipal Hospitals provides comprehensive curative and preventive care for a multitude of patients from around the globe. Manipal Hospitals is NABH, AAHRPP accredited and most of the hospitals in its network are NABL, ER, Blood Bank accredited and recognized for Nursing Excellence. Manipal Hospitals has also been recognised the most respected and patient recommended hospital in India through various consumer surveys.