Background: Ileal intussusception is rare in adults, in contrast to the incidence in children. In this article we discuss the disease by evaluating four patients with ileal intussusception.
Methods: A retrospective review was performed at Department of Surgery of Akdeniz University School of Medicine to identify adult patients who had been operated with diagnosis of ileal intussusception. Data related to presentation, diagnosis, treatment and pathology were analyzed.
Results: Four patients were operated with a diagnosis of ileal intussusception. Three of them presented with signs and symptoms of mechanical intestinal obstruction and one of them presented with chronic gastrointestinal symptoms. In a patient, the intussusseption was associated with an ileal lipoma, whereas in another patient an ileal polyp was the etiological factor. Two patients had intussusseption without any lesion. All of patients were treated operatively and en bloc resection was performed.
Conclusion: Ileal intussusseption presents with a variety of non-specific gastrointestinal symptoms, thus the preoperative diagnosis is difficult. It must be considered in patients who presents with mechanical intestinal obstruction. Surgical resection of the intussusseption without any reduction is the preferred surgical treatment, regarding that most of ileal intussusseptions are associated with benign or malign lesions.