Citations
Intussusceptions are defined as the telescoping of one segment of the gastrointestinal tract into an adjacent distal segment. In the small bowel, intussusceptions are typically caused by benign processes, but can occasionally be caused by inflammatory fibroid polyps, which often present as intussusception and bowel obstruction. These polyps are rare, benign, tumorous lesions in the gastrointestinal tract and are typically observed in the stomach, but can occur anywhere in the gastrointestinal tract. Any case of a jejunojejunal intussusception caused by inflammatory fibroid polyps is considered rare, and we report the case of a 51-year-old woman with an inflammatory fibroid polyp of the jejunum presenting as an intussusception who was successfully treated with a resection.
Citations
The aim of this study was to observe the clinical features of a bezoar-induced small bowel obstruction and to investigate the role of abdominal computed tomography (CT) in establishing the diagnosis.
We retrospectively reviewed 20 cases of bezoar-induced small bowel obstruction in our hospital from 1996 to 2010.
Thirteen patients (65%) had a history of abdominal surgery. Nine patients (45%) were diagnosed with a bezoar before surgery, seven patients were diagnosed by using abdominal CT, and two patients were diagnosed with a small bowel series. Abdominal CT was performed in 15 patients, and the diagnostic accuracy was 47% (7/15). Surgery revealed ten bezoars in the jejunum and 11 in the ileum. Two patients had bezoars found concurrently in the stomach. Spontaneous removal took place in two patients. An enterotomy and bezoar extraction was performed in 15 patients. Fragmentation and milking, a small bowel resection, and a Meckel's diverticulectomy were performed in one patient each. Early operative treatment was possible (P = 0.036) once the bezoar had been diagnosed by using abdominal CT. There tended to be fewer postoperative complications in patients who were diagnosed with a bezoar by using abdominal CT, but the result was not statistically significant (P = 0.712).
A preoperative diagnosis of bezoar-induced small bowel obstruction by using clinical features was difficult. Increased use of abdominal CT led to a more accurate diagnosis and to earlier surgery for bezoar-induced small bowel obstructions, thereby reducing the rate of complications.
Citations
Tumors of the small bowel are rare, accounting for about 3-6% of all gastrointestinal neoplasms, though they cover more than 90% of the intestinal surface. However, diagnosis and treatment are difficult and present an ongoing challenge for both gastrointestinal surgeons and gastroenterologists. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical features of small bowel tumors.
Between November 1994 and November 2007, 81 patients underwent treatments for primary tumors in the jejuno-ileal region at the Department of Surgery, Kangnam St. Mary's Hospital, the Catholic University of Korea. A retrospective review of the patients' characteristics and variable tumor factors was performed.
The mean age of the patients was 53.2 years with 48 men and 33 women. The most common symptom was abdominal pain (59.3%), followed by bleeding (22.2%) and an abdominal mass (6.2%). We found that the patients with ileal tumors complained mainly of abdominal pain (72.9%) whereas the patients with jejunal tumors presented with gastrointestinal bleeding (36.4%) (P = 0.048). Seventy-six of the 81 patients (93.8%) had malignant tumors, including 40 (49.4%) gastrointestinal stromal tumors, 26 (32.1%) lymphomas and 5 (6.2%) adenocarcinomas. No postoperative mortalities were observed. The overall 5-year survival rate of the patients with malignant small bowel tumors was 31.8%.
Because the clinical features of a primary tumor of the small bowel are obscure and its diagnosis is difficult, maintaining a high degree of suspicion and recognizing the possibility of a primary small bowel tumor are important.
Citations