Either of these ostomies are typically placed at or a few centimeters below the patients navel per doctor recommendation based on the affected area of the intestines as well as concerns for patient comfort and future physical growth for children.The total removal of the colon, called a colectomy or resection of affected parts of the colon may be needed if part of the gut dies (for instance toxic megacolon), or if there is a localized area of dysmotility. Gastric and colonic pacemakers have been tried. These are strips placed along the colon or stomach which create an electric discharge intended to cause the muscle to contract in a controlled manner. A potential solution, albeit radical, is intestinal transplantation. This is only appropriate in the case of intestinal failure. These procedures are most frequently described in pediatric cases of CIPO. One operation involving multi-organ transplant of the pancreas, stomach, duodenum, small intestine, and liver, and was performed by Doctor Kareem Abu-Elmagd on Gretchen Miller. Potential Treatments
Further research is necessary into other treatments which may alleviate symptoms. These include stem-cell transplantation and fecal microbiota transplantation. Cannabis has not been studied with regards to CIPO. Any claims to its efficacy for use in CIPO are speculative. Related disorders
Ogilvie syndrome: acute pseudoobstruction of the colon in severely ill debilitated patients. Hirschsprungs disease: enlargement of the colon due to lack of development of autonomic ganglia. Intestinal neuronal dysplasia: a disease of motor neurons leading to the bowels.
Intestinal pseudo-obstruction (IPO) is a clinical syndrome caused by severe impairment in the ability of the intestines to push food through. It is characterized by the signs and symptoms of intestinal obstruction without any lesion in the intestinal lumen. Clinical features mimic those seen with mechanical intestinal obstructions and can include abdominal pain, nausea, abdominal distension, vomiting, dysphagia and constipation depending upon the part of the gastrointestinal tract involved. It is a difficult condition to diagnose, requiring exclusion of any other mechanical cause of obstruction. Many patients are diagnosed late in the course of disease after additional symptoms are seen. Mortality is also difficult to accurately determine. One retrospective study estimated mortality to be between 10 and 25% for chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction (CIPO) and to vary greatly depending on the etiology of the condition. When present for less than six months, it is diagnosed as acute IPO or Ogilvies Syndrome. Longer than this is considered chronic. Owing to the difficulty of diagnosis, few studies are available which have attempted to estimate its prevalence.The condition can begin at any age. Most studies describing CIPO are in pediatric populations. It can be a primary condition (idiopathic or inherited) or caused by another disease (secondary). It can be a result of myriad of etiologies including infectious, parasitic, autoimmune, genetic, congenital, neurologic, toxic, endocrinological, or anatomical pathology. Treatment targets nutritional support, improving intestinal motility, and minimizing surgical intervention.