Long-term outcomes of laparoscope-assisted heart-shaped anastomosis for children with hirschsprung disease: A 10-year review study

Abstract Background and objective Several operating procedures have been reported for treating Hirschsprung Disease (HD), but the incidence of postoperative complications remains at a high level affecting both the patients' prognosis and postoperative life quality. Heart-shaped anastomosis as a novel surgery method for children with HD has been improved by our medical center. This new surgery method is characterized by a heart-shaped colorectal anastomosis after splitting the posterior rectum wall to 0.5 cm above the dentate line. The aim of this review was to research the outcomes and quality of life of laparoscope-assisted heart-shaped anastomosis (LHSA) for children with HD by comparing it with a more generally applied surgery method, the laparoscope-assisted Soave procedure (LSP). Methods A retrospective review was conducted for 198 patients who underwent operations from January 2005 to December 2014 in our institution, who were divided into 97 cases of the LHSA group and 101 cases of LSP group according to the treatment methods; all the outcomes and individual quality of life data were assessed and compared. Result All the enrolled 198 children diagnosed with HD, LHSA and LSP had been successfully completed in all cases. For complications, the incidence of constipation and soiling in the LHSA group was lower than the LSP group (P = 0.030, P = 0.042 respectively). On aspects of quality of life after operation, the individual quality of life of children with fecal incontinence was scored; and the higher the scores, the better the quality of life. Patients in the LHSA group had higher scores in terms of soiling, unhappy or anxious and peer rejection than the LSP group (P = 0.003, P = 0.009, P = 0.021, respectively). Other surgical characteristics and outcomes did not significantly differ between the two groups. Conclusion LHSA is a feasible and safe minimally invasive surgery method with good long-term follow-up outcomes for HD patients. Compared with LSP, LHSA has advantages of low incidence of constipation and soiling, and provides better quality of life. Therefore, LHSA may provide a better choice for HD patients. Levels of evidence The type of study was Clinical Research Paper and the level of evidence was level III.