Small bowel intussusception secondary to inflammatory fibroid polyp of the ileum: report of a case.

Inflammatory fibroid polyps are rare benign lesions of uncertain origin, that may occur in many different locations in the gastrointestinal tract, the gastric antrum being the most common site, followed by the small bowel. These lesions can cause abdominal pain, gastrointestinal bleeding, intestinal obstruction or intussusception. In the case of a gastric inflammatory fibroid polyp in the presence of Helicobacter Pylori infection, the patient can benefit from pharmacological eradication of Helicobacter Pylori. In case of an intestinal inflammatory fibroid polyp causing acute abdomen, the treatment is surgical. In this paper we report a case of an adult male patient with ileal intussusception due to an inflammatory fibroid polyp. A 62-year-old male patient presenting with acute abdomen underwent an exploratory laparotomy. At surgery an ileal tumour 15 cm from the ileocecal valve causing ileoileal intussusception was found. The intussuscepted segment was resected and an end-to-end anastomosis was carried out. The postoperative period was uneventful and the patient was discharged 5 days after the surgery. After 6 months, he is doing well and back to normal life. Even if inflammatory fibroid polyps are benign lesions, surgical treatment is the only solution when they present with intestinal intussusception. Preoperative diagnosis of inflammatory fibroid polyps is often difficult, and confirmation can only be obtained by histological and immunohistochemical examination. Since they can mimic malignant stromal lesions, the differential diagnosis must be done very carefully.