Diagnosis and laparoscopic treatment of ileoileal intussusception secondary to heterotopic pancreas in an infant: case report and review of the literature

Concomitant Heterotopic Pancreas and Endometriosis as a Rare Cause of Ileo-Ileal Intussusception in a Young Woman with Spina Bifida: Case Report and Literature Review

INTRODUCTION

Isolated heterotopic pancreas (HP) as the primary cause of bowel intussusception is extremely rare. We report a case of a 33-year-old female patient with spina bifida admitted to the Emergency Surgical Department for ileal intussusception due to the presence of heterotopic pancreas associated with endometriosis.

AREAS COVERED

Symptomatic ileal intussusception for ectopic pancreas is usually associated with overt gastrointestinal blood loss (predominantly melena), abdominal pain, vomiting, and weight loss. Treatment is universally surgical.

EXPERT COMMENTARY

Isolated heterotopic pancreas is a rare condition; it should be considered in the differential diagnosis of bowel intussusception.

Heterotopic pancreas in the gastrointestinal tract in children: a single-center experience and a review of the literature

Background

Heterotopic pancreas, that is the abnormal localization of a well-differentiated pancreatic tissue, is a rare occurrence in pediatric patients. Most lesions are found incidentally; in some circumstances, the presence of heterotopic pancreas may cause gastrointestinal symptoms, such as obstructive symptoms or bleeding.

Patients and methods

The clinical notes of patients with histological diagnosis of heterotopic pancreas treated at Meyer Children’s Hospital between 2009 and 2017 have been retrospectively examined.

Four variables have been examined: clinical presentation, age at diagnosis, timing of surgery and localization of the heterotopic pancreas. Patients have been classified accordingly.

Results

Fourteen patients were diagnosed with heterotopic pancreas at a single institution. In half cases, heterotopic pancreas caused symptoms that warranted surgical exploration. Symptomatic patients were significantly older than patients in whom heterotopic pancreas was an incidental finding (mean age 9 years and 5 months vs 2 years and 9 months; p = 0.02). Heterotopic pancreas was more frequently found in patients who underwent urgent surgical procedure than in patients who underwent elective surgery (2.61% vs 0.22%; p < 0.0001). In all cases, foci of heterotopic pancreas were resected.

Conclusion

Heterotopic pancreas is usually discovered in the submucosa of the stomach, duodenum and small bowel. Heterotopic tissue may cause symptoms related to mechanical complications, bleeding from the surrounding intestinal mucosa or, occasionally, to the development of malignancy.

Heterotopic tissue is a rare but clinically relevant cause of gastrointestinal symptoms. The presence of heterotopic tissue should be considered in children with gastrointestinal symptoms of unclear origin and surgical resection is advisable.

The Role of Laparoscopy in the Management of a Diagnostic Dilemma: Jejunal Ectopic Pancreas Developing into Jejunojejunal Intussusception

Ectopic pancreas (EP) is a rare congenital anomaly defined as the presence of pancreatic tissue in topographic anomaly. It is usually silent but it may become clinically evident when complicated by acute conditions. The development of laparoscopic surgery has changed the way to manage such conditions, especially in the setting of emergency surgery, thanks to its diagnostic and therapeutic role with excellent results. We decided to perform an emergency diagnostic exploratory laparoscopy in a 29-year-old man with an acute abdomen and nonspecific radiological images for intestinal occlusion. A jejunojejunal intussusception was found, caused by a mass. We decided to carry out minilaparotomy to perform a resection of the affected jejunum. Histological examination confirmed the presence of a jejunal ectopic pancreas. Adult intussusception caused by EP represents 5% of all cases of intussusception. As CT scan, especially when performed in emergency setting for small bowel obstruction diagnosis, can usually demonstrate nondiagnostic findings suggestive of intussusception of unknown origin, laparoscopic exploration could help surgeons in order to perform a resolute diagnosis and treat the pathology.

Ektopinė (heterotopinė) kasa plonosios žarnos pasaite: klinikinio atvejo pristatymas ir literatūros apžvalga

Ektopinė kasa (EK) – reta įgimta anomalija, kai normalus kasos audinys yra už kasos ribų. Heterotopinis kasos audinys plonosios žarnos pasaite yra ypač retai sutinkamas EK tipas. EK dažniausiai aptinkama įvairiose virškinamojo trakto dalyse atsitiktinai.

Paprastai EK yra simptomų nesukelianti anomalija, tačiau kliniškai gali pasireikšti atsiradus komplikacijoms, tokioms kaip uždegimas, kraujavimas, obstrukcija ar supiktybėjus. Simptomų išsivystymas priklauso nuo EK dydžio, lokalizacijos bei patologinių audinio pokyčių, kurie taip pat būdingi ir normaliam kasos audiniui. Operacinis gydymas nėra indikuotinas, nebent esant komplikacijoms, todėl labai svarbi tiksli priešoperacinė diagnozė siekiant išvengti nereikalingų intervencijų.

Mes pristatome retą klinikinį atvejį, kada EK lokalizavosi plonosios žarnos pasaite. Pateikiame paciento kompiuterinės tomografijos tyrimo vaizdus. Šis klinikinis atvejis parodo, kad ektopinis kasos audinys visada turėtų būti įtrauktas į gastrointestinių navikų diferencinę diagnostiką.

An Interesting Case of Double Compound Intussusception without Intestinal Occlusion in a 5-Year-Old Boy

Intussusception is a very common surgical finding in children. Idiopathic intussusception is relatively frequent in children within the first year and it usually causes an acute abdomen. Instead, complex intussusception involving multiple or remote intestinal segments is a very rare entity and it is frequently diagnosed intraoperatively. It is often because of an anatomical cause and it can occur at any age. We report a unique case of contemporary double site anterograde and retrograde ileoileal intussusception without intestinal occlusion because of a submucous intestinal lipoma. In our case, imaging studies were important for clinical suspicion and laparoscopy was essential for final diagnosis and its resolution.

A microscopically calcified Meckel's diverticulum: a histopathological perspective of a case of both gastric and pancreatic mucosae

A 2-year-old child presented with a 1-week history of abdominal pain and non-bilious vomiting. Upon examination, the abdomen was distended and faecal aspirate was noted from a nasogastric tube. Ultrasound scan and a failed air enema demonstrated intestinal intussusception warranting a surgical intervention. The intraoperative findings were of an ileocolic intussusception that was reduced and a Meckel's diverticulum (MD) was noted as a lead point necessitating resection with an end-to-end anastomosis. Histopathological analysis revealed a heterotopic MD containing both gastric and pancreatic mucosae with dystrophic calcification. MD is a pathologically diverse condition. The commonest histopathological picture in MD is that of an ectopic gastric mucosa at the terminal ileum. The histopathological analysis of this case demonstrated the interesting heterotopic results with calcification, which the histopathologist needs to be aware of when interpreting a surgical specimen with a clinical picture consistent with intussusception.