Small bowel tumours causing intussusception in childhood.

In a series of 292 children with intussusception ten (3.5 per cent) were caused by small bowel tumours. The average age of these patients was greater than in idiopathic cases; seven of the ten being older than 2 years. Intussusception due to Peutz-Jeghers hamartomas was jejunojejunal whereas other small bowel tumours causing intussusception were in the terminal ileum. The majority of these intussusceptions were either irreducible or gangrenous and all required resection of bowel. There was only one death in the entire series of 292 patients, and this was a child with lymphosarcoma.