Purpose: Intussusception accounts for 1-5% of all cases of intestinal obstruction in adults. A lead point is present in 90% of the cases in adults unlike in children. Ileal fibromas are uncommon benign neoplasm of the small bowel. Case: A 43-year-old woman with prior medical history of dyslipidemia and hypothyroidism presented to our hospital with complaints of intermittent abdominal pain for the last 3 months. She had an upper GI endoscopy performed 2 months earlier for similar symptoms which revealed a hyperplastic polyp of duodenal bulb and Helicobacter pylori gastritis. The patient continued to have occasional nausea with epigastric discomfort and mild constipation, but denied vomiting. She denied any prior surgeries or any significant family history of malignancies. Abdominal examination showed fullness in the epigastric region. CT scan of the abdomen revealed ileoileal intussusception with a lead point which appeared to be a rounded solid mass. Patient underwent exploratory laparotomy with findings of ileoileal intussusception one foot from the ileocecal junction. Upon reduction of the intussusception a small polyp, firm to hard in consistency was found. Resection of the ileal lesion with end-to-end anastomosis was performed with removal of few enlarged mesenteric lymph nodes in the adjacent mesentery. Histologically the polyp was involving the muscular wall of the bowel, consisting of fairly uniform appearing round to oval cells with irregular nuclei with low mitotic activity and low ki-67 index. There was admixture of lymphocytes, eosinophils, mast cells and plasma cells present in the lesion with delicate capillary vasculature. Immunostains were negative for CD 34, SMA, S100, ALK -1, CD 10, DESMIN, CD 117 (KIT), DOG -1, pancytokeratin, EMA, CD 45, CD 20, CD 3, CD 68 (KPI AND PGM), synaptophysin and chromogranin. Diffuse vimentin immuno-reactivity of the tumor cells was noted. Histopathology was consistent with an ileal fibroma. The immunostains helped to distinguish the lesion from inflammatory fibroid polyps and gastrointestinal stromal tumor. Clinical presentation of intussusception is nonspecific. The predominant symptoms are those of partial intestinal obstruction. Surgery remains the mainstay of management since in most cases the etiology involves an underling pathologic process. Conclusion: We report an unusual cause of small bowel obstruction in an adult patient, secondary to a ileal fibroma as the lead point of intussusception.
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