Children with severe constipation who do not respond to medical therapy and children who suffer from fecal incontinence (lack of control of bowel movements) may not want to eat and often feel uncomfortable and have a reduced quality of life.
The Malone Antegrade Continence Enema (MACE) Program at Riley at IU Health provides a treatment to restore normal bowel function. This treatment helps your child return to school and regular activities and enjoy eating again. The MACE Program at Riley at IU Health is the only one of its kind in Indiana. We provide care to children from across Indiana, as well as from many other states.
Board certified pediatric gastroenterologists and surgeons lead the MACE program, which offers a surgical way to clean out the colon. Before your child is approved for the MACE procedure, doctors will perform a full medical workup to rule out any underlying conditions. A physical examination may be combined with:
- Motility tests. These tests are performed to study the function of the intestines and rectum. Types of motility tests include:
- Antroduodenal manometry
- Colonic motility study
- Anorectal manometry
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan of the spine will check for possible nerve damage.
If your child is a candidate for the MACE procedure, he or she will have surgery that creates a way to deliver enema fluid to the large intestine. The appendix is used to build a passageway from the belly button to the large intestine. The enema fluid is inserted through a catheter in the belly button using a gastrostomy button. The enema is given to clean out the colon.
The MACE procedure is highly successful at resolving constipation and fecal incontinence. Once your child's condition is corrected, you can expect:
- Reversal of the procedure. The MACE procedure can be reversed because the colon is left intact.
- Removal of the button. The gastrostomy button can be removed.
- Return to normal. Bowel movements will return to normal.
The MACE Program drastically changes the lives of the children it treats. After the MACE procedure, children say they enjoy:
- Improved quality of life
- An increased interest in eating
- Increased calorie and nutritional intake
The MACE Program completed a published quality-of-life study of its patients and documented an increase in the average quality-of-life rating after device placement. The study found:
- Lower quality-of-life rating before treatment. An average quality-of-life rating of 64 percent before the procedure.
- Improved quality-of-life rating after treatment. Quality of life improved to a 90 percent rating six months after surgery.
- Maintained higher quality-of-life rating a year later. At 12 months post-procedure, patients rated their quality of life at 92 percent.
Children are monitored at the twice-monthly MACE clinic. Your child's doctor will see him or her three months after the procedure and then every three or six months depending on your child’s condition.
Conditions & Services
Conditions Treated
Our pediatric specialists provide patient- and family-centered care for most related conditions. The links below provide more specific information about some, but not all, of the conditions that we treat.
Services Offered
We offer a number of different Malone Antegrade Continence Enema (MACE) Program services. Below are some, but not all, of the services that we provide. If you have a question about a specific service that is not listed here, please contact our program.
Doctors and
Locations
Doctors
The care your child receives through the MACE Program is managed by our specialized pediatric gastroenterologists.
Locations
Locations
In addition to our primary hospital location at the Academic Health Center in Indianapolis, IN, we have convenient locations to better serve our communities throughout the state.
Sort through 3 facilities offering Malone Antegrade Continence Enema (MACE) Program care by entering your city or zip below.
Program Forms & Resources
Program Forms & Resources
Riley Children's Health provides the following forms for parents, healthcare providers and personnel. We have also curated relevant resources from other websites and provided links with brief descriptions of the information that is available.
Resources
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Learn more about the surgical procedure, also called an appendicocecostomy.
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This website for children and parents is maintained by the North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition. This group provides information about many gastrointestinal conditions and treatments, including constipation and fecal incontinence.
Related Departments
Related Departments
We provide multispecialty care for a number of conditions. Below are links to our related departments.
Health Professionals
For Health Professionals
The MACE Program at Riley at IU Health works with pediatric gastroenterologists throughout Indiana. Physicians send patients here for further evaluation when other medical treatments for constipation and fecal incontinence do not work.
We are actively involved in education to train physicians in the use of the MACE procedure.
Refer A Patient
Riley at IU Health works with referring physicians in Indiana and beyond.
Refer A PatientResearch
Physicians within the MACE Program are actively involved in research to improve patient outcomes for the MACE procedure.
Visit the Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition at Indiana University School of Medicine for information about the latest research in the field of gastroenterology.
Education
Physicians within the MACE Program help to educate the next generation of physicians by working directly with medical students, residents and clinical fellows at the MACE clinic.