Ventriculoperitoneal shunt knotting causing bowel obstruction and necrosis in an adult patient

Knotting or twisting of the peritoneal catheter around a bowel segment, causing bowel obstruction and necrosis, is extremely rare. Only six cases have been reported in the literature. This report described the second case of an adult patient with spontaneous knotting of the peritoneal catheter around a small-bowel segment, causing bowel obstruction and necrosis. The presentation of a knotted ventriculoperitoneal shunt around a bowel loop is stereotypical. Treatment and general recommendations have been made to help guide clinicians when encountering such cases. Evidence of small-bowel obstruction in a twisted, coiled or knotted peritoneal catheter may need surgical intervention. In the setting of progressive abdominal manifestations, knotting of the peritoneal catheter around bowel loops may cause bowel obstruction and may present with acute life-threatening manifestations. Efficient and expedite diagnosis should be made to coordinate multispecialty intervention and follow-up appropriately.

A case report of retrograde intussusception 3 years post Roux-en-Y gastric bypass

Retrograde jejuno-jejunal intussusception is a rare complication of bariatric surgeries. It causes acute sudden symptoms that require immediate surgical intervention. We report a case of a 46-year-old female who underwent Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (REYGP) 3 years prior. The patient presented to the emergency department with acute sudden abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. Laparoscopically, intussuscepting small bowel segment was found gangrenous, and it was resected and end-to-end anastomoses were fashioned. The postoperative course was uneventful, and the patient remained asymptomatic for the 12 months of follow-up. Patients with retrograde intussusception experience an intolerable severe pain that necessitates surgical intervention. The etiology of intussusception as a complication after REYGP is unclear, yet theoretically some possible etiologies exist. The initial diagnosis of retrograde intussusception is made based on abdominal computed tomography. Early intervention significantly reduces morbidity and mortality.

Jejunal Intussusception: A Rare Presentation of Carcinoid Tumor

A 55-year-old male presented to the emergency department with sudden onset of diffuse abdominal pain for one day. Physical examination was remarkable for tenderness in the umbilical region. A CT scan of the abdomen showed intussusception involving the jejunum without any mass. The patient then underwent an exploratory laparotomy. During surgery, the distal jejunum was intussuscepted with mesenteric lymphadenopathy. Liver showed nodular deposits in both lobes of the liver. The involved small bowel segment was resected with primary anastomosis and liver was biopsied. Pathological examination showed multifocal deposits of well-differentiated carcinoids in the jejunum. The liver and mesenteric deposits were positive for metastatic carcinoid. Patient recovered well without any complications.

Role of Magnetic Resonance Enterography in Differentiating between Fibrotic and Active Inflammatory Small Bowel Stenosis in Patients with Crohn's Disease

Objective:To assess the diagnostic accuracy of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in prospectively differentiating between fibrotic and active inflammatory small bowel stenosis in patients with Crohn's disease (CD).Materials and Methods:A total of 111 patients with histologically proven CD presenting with clinical and plain radiographic signs of small bowel obstruction underwent coronal and axial MRI scans after oral administration of polyethylene glycol solution. A stenosis was judged present if a small bowel segment had >80% lumen reduction as compared to an adjacent normal loop and mural thickening of >3 mm. At the level of the stenosis, both T2 signal intensity and post-gadolinium T1 enhancement were quantified using a 5-point scale (0: very low; 1: low; 2: moderate; 3: high; and 4: very high). A stenosis was considered fibrotic if the sum of the two values (activity score: AS) did not exceed 1.Results:A small bowel stenosis was identified in 48 out of 111 patients. Fibrosis was confirmed at histology in all of the 23 patients with AS of 0 or 1, who underwent surgery within 3 days of the MRI examination. In the remaining 25 patients (AS: 2–8), an active inflammatory stenosis was suspected and remission of the obstructive symptoms was obtained by means of medical treatment. One of these patients (AS: 2), however, underwent surgery after 14 days, due to recurrence. MRI had 95.8% sensitivity, 100% specificity, and 97.9% accuracy in the diagnosis of fibrotic stenosis.Conclusion:MRI is reliable in differentiating fibrotic from inflammatory small bowel stenosis in CD.