Intussusception in adults: clinical characteristics, diagnosis and operative strategies.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate 20 adults with intussusception and to clarify the cause, clinical features, diagnosis, and management of this uncommon entity.


METHODS
A retrospective review of patients aged > 18 years with a diagnosis of intestinal intussusception between 2000 and 2008. Patients with rectal prolapse, prolapse of or around an ostomy and gastroenterostomy intussusception were excluded.


RESULTS
There were 20 cases of adult intussusception. Mean age was 47.7 years. Abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting were the most common symptoms. The majority of intussusceptions were in the small intestine (85%). There were three (15%) cases of colonic intussusception. Enteric intussusception consisted of five jejunojejunal cases, nine ileoileal, and four cases of ileocecal invagination. Among enteric intussusceptions, 14 were secondary to a benign process, and in one of these, the malignant cause was secondary to metastatic lung adenocarcinoma. All colonic lesions were malignant. All cases were treated surgically.


CONCLUSIONS
Adult intussusception is an unusual and challenging condition and is a preoperative diagnostic problem. Treatment usually requires resection of the involved bowel segment. Reduction can be attempted in small-bowel intussusception if the segment involved is viable or malignancy is not suspected; however, a more careful approach is recommended in colonic intussusception because of a significantly higher coexistence of malignancy.
Yakan
Savas
S
Department of Surgery, Izmir Education and Research Hospital, Izmir, Turkey. savasyakan@gmail.com
Caliskan
Cemil
C
Makay
Ozer
O
Denecli
Ali-Galip
AG
Korkut
Mustafa-Ali
MA
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007443:Intussusception / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D055815:Young Adult