Duodenal Obstruction Caused by Acute Appendicitis with Intestinal Malrotation in a Child

Malrotated subhepatic caecum with subhepatic appendicitis: Diagnostic dilemma: A case report

INTRODUCTION

Acute appendicitis is among common surgical emergency. Subhepatic appendicitis is rare and difficult to diagnose and manage. There are few case reports across the world.

CASE PRESENTATION

We presented a case of 7 year's old child with no known medical illness presented with acute onset vague abdominal pain experienced for three days. he was symptomatically treated as Acute gastroenteritis and dyspepsia later diagnosed with acute appendicitis and underwent laparotomy. He has malrotated subhepatic cecum with Subhepatic gangrenous appendicitis Open appendectomy done and discharged improved.

CLINICAL DISCUSSION

Subhepatic appendicitis is a condition where the appendix is abnormally located in the upper right abdomen. This atypical placement often leads to delayed diagnosis and complications due to its similar symptoms to other abdominal diseases. While ultrasound is a valuable tool for diagnosis, laparoscopic appendectomy is the preferred treatment method when available. However, in resource-limited settings without laparoscopic capabilities, open surgery is necessary.

CONCLUSION

Subhepatic appendicitis is a rare occurrence and its infrequent location makes it difficult to diagnose. Awareness of various location of appendix, a high index of suspicion and radiological imaging is required for prompt diagnosis and management. Appendicitis in subhepatic appendix and high up cecum creates a lot of confusion in both diagnosis and surgical exploration which may lead in complication and delay in treatment.

Subhepatic Appendicitis Presenting With Recurrent Abdominal Pain

Gut malrotation may result in failure of descent of the cecum to the right iliac fossa, resulting in the anomaly where the cecum and appendix are situated in the subhepatic/gallbladder region. Although the true incidence of subhepatic cecum or appendix is not known, there is a handful of case reports in the literature describing the diagnosis and management of subhepatic appendicitis and associated challenges. Some case reports describe subhepatic appendicitis, where the cecum is in a normal position, but the subhepatic tip of the long appendix gets perforated or inflamed, resulting in the process being in the subhepatic region. We report a patient with subhepatic appendicitis, who had multiple episodes of abdominal pain for almost one year, treated with antibiotics, but was never diagnosed properly. The case was diagnosed by abdominal sonography and was managed successfully in our institution.

Subhepatic Appendicitis in an 11-year-old Boy: A Case Report

Appendicitis is a common surgical emergency. When present in an abnormal subhepatic location, it can pose a challenge in its diagnosis and management. Subhepatic appendicitis is a rare phenomenon, especially in the pediatric age group. Herein, we present a rare case of subhepatic appendicitis in an 11-year-old boy with delayed presentation but managed successfully.

Is the laparoscopic approach appropriate for pediatric subhepatic appendicitis?

INTRODUCTION

Subhepatic appendicitis in children is an unusual condition that can be challenging for the pediatric surgeons to treat. The aim of our study was to compare the outcomes of laparoscopic appendectomies based on the position of the appendix.

METHODS

The data of 1736 patients who had undergone laparoscopic appendectomy in our tertiary center were retrospectively reviewed. We compared two groups: subhepatic location (n = 56) and non-subhepatic location (n = 1680). A P-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

RESULTS

There was no statistically significant difference between the demographic variables of the groups. More than half of the subhepatic appendicitises were gangrenous (44.6%) or perforated (16.1%), whereas most of the non-subhepatic appendicitises were phlegmonous (56.9%). Extracorporeal ligation of the appendix was the preferred technique in both the subhepatic and non-subhepatic groups (69.6% and 89.8%, respectively). The subhepatic group had a statistically significant higher incidence of technical difficulties (1.6%) and abdominal drain (18.6%) than the non-subhepatic group, as well as a longer operative time and hospital stay. However, intraoperative and postoperative complications were similar in both groups.

CONCLUSION

Laparoscopic subhepatic appendectomy is safe and does not lead to increased complications. However, the technique is made difficult by the fact that the appendix is an atypical location, and the rate of complicated appendicitis is higher.

INTESTINAL OBSTRUCTION CAUSED BY APPENDICITIS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

BACKGROUND

The known complications of appendicitis include perforated appendicitis with generalised peritonitis, appendiceal mass, appendiceal abscess, sepsis, adhesion formation and in a few occasions, small bowel intestinal obstruction.

AIM

To review published cases of intestinal obstruction due to appendicitis with a view to better understand the pathophysiology of this complication.

METHODOLOGY

A search of the literature in the MEDLINE database, using PubMed and OvidSP, Scopus, Google Scholar and Cochrane Databases with the following MeSH terms: (Appendicitis or appendiceal mass, appendiceal abscess or appendiceal adhesion band) and (intestinal obstruction, intestinal herniation, intestinal strangulation, intestinal knotting and paralytic ileus) was done. Also, these searches were restricted according to the following MeSH limits: (a) January 1, 1950 to July 31, 2016, (b) English articles (c) Human.

RESULTS

Overall, 27 articles reported 45 patients with intestinal obstruction due to appendicitis. Of the 30 (66.7%) patients that the gender was indicated, 22 (48.9%) were male while 8 (17.8%) were female. In 38 (84.4%) cases the cause was mechanical obstruction resulting from one or a combination of the following: (a) appendix laid across loops of bowel bound down by adhesions, (b) herniation through a ring or gap formed by the appendix tip being attached to its base, (c) appendix tip attached to the bowel causing a torsion, (d) kinking of the bowel, (e) complex knotting. Pre-operative diagnosis was a major challenge and so, none was approached through incision based on the McBurney's point.The outcome of treatment which was mostly achieved by immediate appendectomy followed by adhesiolysis was sufficient and often gave good results.

CONCLUSION

This study has shown that appendicitis is an important cause of intestinal obstruction. Even though pre-operative diagnosis is still a major challenge, clinical evaluation and a high index of suspicion are key to diagnosis.

Abdominal ultrasonography of the pediatric gastrointestinal tract

Ultrasound is an invaluable imaging modality in the evaluation of pediatric gastrointestinal pathology; it can provide real-time evaluation of the bowel without the need for sedation or intravenous contrast. Recent improvements in ultrasound technique can be utilized to improve detection of bowel pathology in children: Higher resolution probes, color Doppler, harmonic and panoramic imaging are excellent tools in this setting. Graded compression and cine clips provide dynamic information and oral and intravenous contrast agents aid in detection of bowel wall pathology. Ultrasound of the bowel in children is typically a targeted exam; common indications include evaluation for appendicitis, pyloric stenosis and intussusception. Bowel abnormalities that are detected prenatally can be evaluated after birth with ultrasound. Likewise, acquired conditions such as bowel hematoma, bowel infections and hernias can be detected with ultrasound. Rare bowel neoplasms, vascular disorders and foreign bodies may first be detected with sonography, as well. At some centers, comprehensive exams of the gastrointestinal tract are performed on children with inflammatory bowel disease and celiac disease to evaluate for disease activity or to confirm the diagnosis. The goal of this article is to review up-to-date imaging techniques, normal sonographic anatomy, and characteristic sonographic features of common and uncommon disorders affecting the gastrointestinal tract in children.