Intussusception Caused by Colonic Tumors in Elderly Patients: A Case Series of Seven Patients

Abstract

Intussusception is an uncommon disease and its etiology differs significantly between children and adults. The cause of intussusception in adults is usually related to an underlying lesion, and adult intussusception of the colon is often secondary to a malignant tumor. We evaluated the preoperative diagnoses and surgical treatment of seven elderly patients with intussusception caused by colonic tumors. Five patients were male and two were female. The average age of the patients was 68.9 years. The most common symptom was abdominal pain, with a mean symptom duration of 0.68 (range, 0.25–2.0) months. Four patients underwent right hemicolectomy and three patients had partial colectomy. Pathologic findings revealed colon cancer in four patients, colonic lipoma in two patients, and colonic inflammatory polyp in one patient. Resection without reduction should be considered for colonic intussusceptions in elderly patients because of the high risk of malignancy.

Keywords

• colonic tumor
• elderly patients
• intussusception