Complications of Meckel's Diverticulum in Children

소아 멕켈씨 게실의 합병증

Meckel's diverticulum is the most common congenital anomaly of gastrointestinal tract in children. The incidence of complicated Meckel's diverticulum is about 4 %. The major complications of Meckel's diverticulum are bleeding, intussusception, obstruction and perforation. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical manifestations and the role of laparoscopic surgery in complicated Meckel's diverticulum in children. We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 19 patients with complicated Meckel's diverticulum who underwent operation at Asan Medical Center between Jan. 1990 and Apr. 2007. Male to female ratio was 11:8, and median age was 1 year (1 day-13 years). The most frequent symptom was hematochezia (68%), followed by irritability or abdominal pain (16%), vomiting (11%), and abdominal distension (5%). Two operative procedures were performed; small bowel resection with anastomosis (68%) and diverticulectomy (32%). The operation proven complications of the Meckel's diverticulum were bleeding (68%), intussusception (16%), perforation (11%) and obstruction (5%). Ectopic tissues found by postoperative pathologic examination were gastric (84%) and pancreatic (11%). Hospital stay after laparoscopic operation for bleeding Meckel's was 5 days (median) and average first postoperative feeding was 1.5 days. On the contrary, hospital stay for open surgery was 7 days and first feed was 3 days. In summary, the most common compliation of Meckel's diverticulum in children was bleeding and ectopic gastric tissues were present in 84%. Laparoscopic procedure seemed to be useful for diagnosis as well as for definitive treatment.

소아 멕켈씨 게실의 가장 흔한 합병증은 장출혈이었고, 장중첩, 장폐쇄, 장천공 등도 있었다. 멕켈씨 게실의 조직검사상 이소성위조직이 가장 많았고, 이소성 췌장조직도 있었다. 소아 급성 복증의 원인으로 멕켈씨 게실에 의한 합병증을 염두에 두어야겠으며, 진단이 불명확한 경우, 복강경을 통한 진단이 도움이 될 수 있을 것이다. 또한 멕켈씨 게실의 경우 복강경하 절제술로 복강경 수술의 장점을 충분히 살릴 수 있을 것으로 사료된다.