Congenital Anomalies of the Gastrointestinal Tract Diagnosed in Adulthood—Diagnosis and Management

Abstract

When detected in adulthood, they may require different evaluation and surgical correction. Some of these anomalies should be managed surgically as soon as they cause symptoms. Others may cause persistent problems in adulthood requiring medical management for years. Herein, we present a comprehensive review of all the different ways of diagnosis and management of these anomalies reported in the literature.

Small bowel emergency surgery: literature's review

“…It is a true diverticulum due to the persistence of omphalo-mesenteric duct, which connects in fetal life the yolk sac to the intestinal tract and usually obliterates in the 5 th to 7 th week of life. It is localized on anti-mesenteric border of the distal ileum, usually 30-40 cm far from the ileo-cecal valve [1,79,80]. Meckel's diverticulum is lined mainly by the typical ileal mucosa as in the adjacent small bowel.…”

“…Meckel's diverticulum is the most common cause of bleeding in the pediatric age group. The risk of complications decreases with increasing age [79,80]. The most frequent complications in adults are obstruction due to the intussusceptions or adhesive band, ulceration, diverticulitis and perforation [79,1,80].…”

“…The risk of complications decreases with increasing age [79,80]. The most frequent complications in adults are obstruction due to the intussusceptions or adhesive band, ulceration, diverticulitis and perforation [79,1,80]. Preoperative diagnosis of symptomatic Meckel's diverticulum is difficult, especially in patients with symptoms other than bleeding.…”

“…In doubtful cases, laparoscopy is the preferred diagnostic modality. However, technetium 99-m pertechnate scan is the most common and accurate non-invasive investigation, although it is specific to ectopic gastric mucosa, not to Meckel's diverticulum [80]. In the presence of symptoms, the treatment of choice is the surgical resection.…”

Intestinal Malrotation: A Rare Cause of Small Intestinal Obstruction

“…There is often a fibrous band called Ladd's band that prevent the rotation of the intestines. Intestinal malrotations comprise various anatomic anomalies ranging from complete nonrotation to normal positioning [ 4 , 5 ]. Intestinal malrotations are named according to anatomical variations such as incomplete rotation, mixed rotation, atypical malrotation, and variants of malrotation [ 6 ].…”