Adult idiopathic ileocolic intussusception: A case report

Abstract

Introduction: Intussusception is a rare cause of acute abdomen in adults. Traditionally, management of adult intussusception has mandated surgical interventions due to a high incidence of malignant lesion resulting in intussusception. However, recent literature challenges the traditional view of mandatory surgical interventions for all adult intussusceptions due to an increasing number of benign and idiopathic cases. These benign and idiopathic cases of adult intussusceptions are more readily identified partly due to recent widespread use of computed tomography imaging technique. With the growing number of idiopathic cases, recent literature recommends against the traditional mandatory operative exploration of all adult intussusceptions, only advocating surgical interventions for selected cases. Case Report: A 38-year-old female presented with an acute onset of severe right-sided abdominal pain with associated nausea, vomiting and rectal bleeding to our emergency department. Her computed tomography scan of abdomen and pelvis showed an ileocolic intussusception which had advanced to the level of the hepatic flexure without any mass