A Rare Case of Sigmoid Intussusception due to Sigmoid Diverticula in a Patient with Concomitant Extensive Small Bowel Diverticula

Abstract

Small intestinal diverticula is a rare occurrence, and their surgical management remains controversial due to the lack of a recognized classification system. Complications such as perforation and obstruction are treated surgically. Their etiology remains nebulous but theories such as damage to the Auerbach’s nerve plexus have been advanced as a possible cause. The concomitant presence of a sigmoid intussusception due to diverticular disease in the same patient is truly a rare occurrence. The vast majority of colonic intussusception is due to malignancy and a benign etiology remains elusive. The reported cases of benign causes include a lipoma and benign lymphadenopathy. We believe this to be the first such case report of a colonic diverticulum causing an intussusception. Despite an exploratory laparotomy of less than sixty minutes, the patient demised in the intensive care unit following an occipital lobe stroke. We believe this case of sigmoid intussusception with concomitant small intestinal diverticula to be the first such case report of its kind in English-language scientific publications.

Keywords

• colon
• intussusception
• diverticula
• sigmoid