[Benign tumors of the small intestine]

We reviewed 50 patients with benign tumors of small intestine treated over a period of 15 years. Mean age was 58 years, and 54% of the patients were female. The most frequent location of the tumors was the jejunum (54%). The commonest histological variety was leiomyoma (56%), followed by fibroma (14%). Average size of tumor was 4.8 cm. With regard to clinical data, 20% of the patients were asymptomatic; in the remaining 80% of the patients, abdominal pain, gastrointestinal hemorrhage and abdominal distension were the most frequent symptoms. The mean symptom-diagnosis interval was 2 months. Barium studies, duodenal endoscopy and selective angiography were the most useful diagnostic tools. However, only in 30% of cases the correct diagnosis was reached preoperatively. All patients underwent surgical treatment. The more frequent surgical technique was segmental resection of small bowel (84%). Operative mortality was 4% and morbidity was 10%. Actuarial 5-year survival for all patients was 96%.