Blue rubber bleb nevus: an uncommon cause of intestinal intussusception

The blue rubber bleb nevus syndrome or Bean syndrome is a rare disorder characterized by cutaneous and gastrointestinal vascular malformations. A 5-year-old girl with Bean syndrome hospitalized in a pediatric unit came under our observation with abdominal pain and vomiting. An X-ray of the abdomen showed an intestinal occlusion and an ultrasonography showed a suspected intestinal invagination. She underwent emergency laparoscopic surgery using three trocars. Laparoscopy revealed a huge ascitis and multiple vascular lesions located on the loops and on the parietal peritoneum, and we identified also an ileo-ileal invagination. We performed a laparoscopic disinvagination that showed one huge vascular lesion producing the invagination and causing a stenosis of intestinal lumen. We performed an intestinal resection after exteriorizing the loops through the umbilicus as well as a termino-terminal ileal anastomosis.

Our case shows that an intestinal invagination due to Bean syndrome is extremely rare in pediatric patients but possible. In the emergency, laparoscopy seems to be a safe and effective procedure to confirm the diagnosis and to perform the disinvagination mini-invasivally. In addition, laparoscopy permits to have a clear picture of other intra-abdominal lesions linked to Bean syndrome.