Alimentary tract duplications in children: case and literature review

This report reviews 11 alimentary tract duplications over a 25-year experience at Children's Hospital Medical Center of Akron, Ohio. The cases are compared and contrasted to the literature with respect to lesion, location, and patient presentation. There were no multiple duplications in this series. Clinical presentations were related to obstruction, abdominal pain, and/or hemorrhage. There were four foregut duplications, five midgut duplications, and two hindgut lesions. All patients were treated by surgical removal and all survived. One case was an incidental finding at appendectomy. Pooled data from five large series of duplications revealed the ileal region to be involved in 41 percent of all duplications, followed by esophageal (21%), gastroduodenal (12%), and jejunal (8%). Diverticular, recanalization, and split notochord theories of pathogenesis are discussed. The curious association between duplications and gastric mucosa is explored.