children s health issues
Meconium Ileus
Treatment of Meconium Ileus
Enema Sometimes surgery Infants who have a perforated or twisted intestine need immediate surgery. If there is no perforation or twisting, doctors try to wash out the meconium blockage using an enema. The enema may containN-acetylcysteine, which breaks down and softens the thick meconium to allow it to pass through the intestine and out the rectum. If the enema does not remove the blockage, doctors do surgery to cut open the intestine and remove the meconium. Usually they bring the open ends of the intestine out through the wall of the abdomen (ileostomy). They do more enemas through the open ends of the intestine until the meconium is completely removed. Later, the doctors do another operation to put the ends of the intestine back together. After the blockage is removed and stool begins passing through the area, the narrowed colon eventually widens out to its normal diameter. 