Peutz-Jeghers syndrome

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Digestive system organs

Peutz-Jeghers syndrome

Treatment:

Surgery may be needed to remove polyps that cause chronic problems. Iron supplements help counteract blood loss.

In addition, the patient should be monitored periodically to watch for malignant changes in polyps. Comprehensive surveillance guidelines can be found at geneclinics.org. A booklet with additional information by Johns Hopkins University is available at hopkins-coloncancer.org.

Support Groups:

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Information on support groups can be found at the The Network for Peutz-Jeghers and Juvenile Polyposis Syndrome. An electronic mailing list (discussion group) is available at acor.org.

Expectations (prognosis):

The outcome varies depending on what problems develop.

Complications:

Intussusception (part if the intestine folds in on itself)
Polyps that lead to cancer
Ovarian cysts
Sex cord tumors

Calling your health care provider:

Call for an appointment with your health care provider if symptoms of this condition are present. Severe abdominal pain indicates a possible emergency condition such as intussusception.

If you are planning to have children and there is a family history of this condition, it may be helpful to talk with your health care provider.