The feasibility of laparoscopic swenson pull-through.

The Swenson abdominoperineal pull-through is the authors' preferred treatment for children with Hirschsprung's disease. The present study was performed to determine whether this procedure's principles could be applied to laparoscopic techniques. The operations were performed in 13 mongrel dogs--first to optimize techniques, and second to observe postoperative function in the surviving animals. The authors found that the dog is a good model in which to study this procedure, and it appears possible to perform a satisfactory Swenson pull-through with the laparoscope.