Acute Abdomen Secondary to Ileal Diverticulum: A Case Report

Small-bowel diverticulosis is rare. We report the case of a male with an acute abdomen secondary to an ileal diverticulum. A 46-year-old male complained of progressive abdominal pain over 24 hours of evolution in the left flank. On physical examination, we found abdominal pain in the left flank and mesogastrium, tenderness, and signs of peritonitis. The simple abdominal CT showed a heterogeneous tubular image in the small bowel. We performed a diagnostic laparoscopy and found a normal cecal appendix. There was no free abdominal fluid or adhesions, and the colon was without diverticula. We found a single diverticulum of 4 cm in length and 2 cm in diameter in the small intestine and therefore converted the procedure to a laparotomy. We performed a bowel resection including the diverticulum and intestinal anastomosis. The patient reported remission of symptoms after surgery.