Midgut nonrotation in adults. An aggressive approach

Five adults with midgut nonrotation were treated at Tripler Army Medical Center between January 1, 1966 and January 1, 1974. These patients usually presented with vague epigastric or lower abdominal symptoms. Initial diagnosis was generally based on barium enema studies revealing an entirely left-sided colon. However, on upper gastrointestinal series the absence of a normal duodenal "c" loop with straightening is also seen. Duodenal obstructive bands are rarely documented radiographically. Surgical intervention is frequently delayed in these patients due to the "atypical" symptoms and lack of correlation of these symptoms with objective radiographic changes. The high incidence of associated duodenal ulcer disease, the frequent occurrence of bowel obstruction, the persistence of chronic abdominal pain in the untreated patients, and the resolution of symptoms after anatomic correction point to the need for an aggressive approach to treatment in those patients who have chronic recurrent symptoms secondary to midgut nonrotation.