LOOK: 13 Kilograms of Feces Removed From Colon of Chinese Man Born With Rare Disorder

Doctors at the Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital in China has removed 13 kilograms of accumulated feces from a 22-year-old man suffering from a rare congenital disease last Thursday.

Local news reported that Zhou Hai was suffering from extreme abdominal pain and breathing problems upon arriving at the hospital. Doctors said that he also looked pregnant because of his inflamed stomach.

Zhou said that he has been suffering from constipation since he was a child and has been taking laxatives to alleviate his bowel problem. Upon conducting a CT scan, the doctors discovered that feces have accumulated in his colon.

In a three-hour operation, doctors removed a section of his colon that's full of feces. The infected colon measured 76 centimeters and weighed 28 pounds (13 kilograms).

Tests revealed that Zhou is suffering from Hirschsprung’s disease. Mayo Clinic notes that Hirschsprung’s disease is a congenital condition that's caused by missing nerves in the baby's large intestine or colon. The missing nerves prevent the normal excretion of waste matter through the colon.

Newborns who are inflicted with this disease would not be able to excrete days after birth. However, mild cases of Hirschsprung’s disease is not easily detected during early childhood. It may lead to enterocolitis, an intestinal infection, which when left untreated can be life-threatening.

Symptoms of Hirschsprung’s disease in newborns include a swollen belly, vomiting (usually a green or brown substance), constipation or gas, and diarrhea. Experts advise parents of newborns to be observant of the above-mentioned symptoms as well as the frequency, color and consistency of their child's bowel.

Hirschsprung’s disease can be treated via two types of surgery: ileostomy (removal of the entire colon and connecting the small intestine to the stoma) and colostomy (leaving a part of a colon and connecting it to the stoma).