Warning: This article contains images that are not for the easily squeamish. Proceed with caution!
According to the Mirror, surgeons in China recently performed an incredible life-saving surgery on a 22-year-old man.
The patient was reportedly suffering from a congenital condition known as Hirschsprung’s disease (HD), which means that he has a lack of nerve muscles present in his colon that makes passing motion extremely difficult.
Source: the mirror
This rare life-threatening condition caused a build-up of constipation throughout his life and has caused his abdomen to expand so much that people thought he was pregnant.
Although he regularly took laxatives and other medications to help him go to the toilet, he was still unable to pass motion properly.
It was reported that he couldn’t take the intense discomfort any longer and finally sought the help of a team of medical experts in the 10th People’s Hospital of Shanghai.
Source: the mirror
Doctor Yin Lu and his team expressed that they were stunned at the size of his abdomen, noting that it looked like it could explode at any time!
After undergoing some tests, it was confirmed that the young man had months’ – if not years’ – worth of stool trapped in his colon.
His condition was so severe that doctors decided the best move was to surgically remove parts of his large intestine. So, the young man underwent three hours of surgery, where the expert surgeons removed 76 centimetres of his colon.
The part of the colon that was removed reportedly weighed a whopping 13 kilogrammes!
Source: the mirror
The life-saving surgery was thankfully a success and the patient is reportedly stable and is expected to make a full recovery.
Well, we’re glad this (incredibly gross) story has a happy ending, at least!
Also read: Singaporean Man Gets Breast Reduction Surgery to Shrink His ‘Man Boobs’
