By Alexandra Thompson Senior Health Reporter For Mailonline
Published: 10:41 GMT, 18 January 2019 | Updated: 11:00 GMT, 18 January 2019
View
comments
A man had to have his entire bowel removed after he endured chronic constipation for three months.
The unnamed 36-year-old, 'from a rural area in Sri Lanka', suffers from the rare condition multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2B (MEN2B). This can cause tumour-like growths in the gut lining that affect bowel movements.
He arrived at the National Hospital of Sri Lanka, Colombo, complaining of severe discomfort - and admitted passing less than three stools a week and 'straining 25 per cent of the time'.
After listening to his colon via a stethoscope, doctors discovered the man had 'sluggish bowel movements' with an X-ray confirming a 'megacolon'.
Due to MEN2B 'responding poorly to medical management', the doctors decided the best option was to remove the man's colon. He made a full recovery and has been fitted with a stoma bag.
The unnamed man suffers from multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2B. As well as altering bowel movements, this can also cause painful growths on the eyelids, tongue (pictured) and lips
MEN2B's prevalence is unclear but studies suggest it affects between one in every 600,000 to four million people.
The man arrived at hospital 'ill looking' and uncomfortable with distension - the medical term for a 'ballooning effect', Dr Ashan Rabinath Fernando - a surgeon at the National Hospital of Sri Lanka - wrote in BMJ Case Reports.
Despite him suffering from constipation for a long time, 'socieconomic constraints' prevented the patient from seeking treatment sooner.
Examinations revealed he had painful benign growths on his eyelids, tongue and lips - a common symptom of MEN2B.
He also had
