Adult intussusception: a challenge to laparoscopic surgery?

Intussusception can occur at any age and is common in children but less common in adults. This study aimed to evaluate our experience of 51 adult intussusception and study the etiology, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, and treatment.

This analysis assessed the clinical manifestations, etiology, diagnosis, and treatment of adult intussusception in 51 adult patients at the Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery of China-Japan Union Hospital of Jilin University from January 2010 to December 2020.

The mean age of the cohort was 54.43 ± 18.21 years, and 42 patients were diagnosed by abdominal ultrasonography and abdominal computed tomography (CT). Among them, 76.5% (39/51) had abdominal pain, 11.8% (6/51) had blood in stool, and 5.9% (3/51) had a palpable abdominal mass. Of these, 62.7% had tumors: malignant accounted for 39.2% (20/51) and benign accounted for 23.5% (12/51). CT is the preferred imaging method with a sensitivity of 92.2%, while colonoscopy provides a complementary diagnosis in patients involving the colon. All patients underwent surgical treatment, including 21.6% (11/51) laparoscopic surgery, 74.5% (38/51) open surgery, and 5.9% (3/51) intussusception reduction during the operation. The average operation time of the open group was 133.27 ± 43.75 min and the average hospital stay was 16.24 ± 12.55 days, while the average operation time of the laparoscopic group was 140.50 ± 46.15 mins, and the average hospital stay was 16.60 ± 16.98 days (P > 0.05).

Adult intussusception is a rare disease in clinic. Laparoscopic surgery can be useful and safe for adult intussusception.