[Intussusception in the adult: a rare cause of mechanical obstruction]

Abstract

Intussusception is an infrequent cause of mechanical intestinal obstruction in the adult. We present herein two clinical cases of intussusception with different etiologies. In the first case, the underlying cause was a lipoma, and in the second, it was metastasis from melanoma. In both cases the intussusception was identified through computed tomography and treatment was intestinal resection. Pathologic anatomy provided the definitive diagnosis. Etiology is diverse and it is more common for obstruction to be due to organic lesions that are malignant at the level of the colon and benign at the level of the small bowel. Currently there are more preoperative diagnoses thanks to the advances made in imaging study techniques. Intestinal resection continues to be the treatment of choice in the majority of cases, because of the high percentage of malignant lesions as the underlying cause.