Intussusception is a rare etiology of bowel obstruction in adults and accounts for
1–3% of those cases. It is associated with an underlying mass such as a tumor or polyp
in >80% of patients [
1
,
2
,
3
,
4
]. In gastric bypass patients, intussusception is an uncommon complication [
5
,
6
]. The common channel distal to the jejunojejunostomy is the usual site of intussusceptions.
The direction of intussusception can be either antegrade or retrograde, but most reported
cases are retrograde in nature. The probable etiology can include the presence of
an ectopic pacemaker causing retrograde peristalsis. Alternatively, it is believed
that dysmotility disorder can occur after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass owing to disruption of the pacesetter. Intussusception has also been
reported to complicate pregnancy [
7
,
8
,
9
,
10
]. Although it is a rare occurrence, intussusception can have devastating consequences
if not promptly diagnosed and managed. The difficulty of reaching the diagnosis in
pregnant patients, as well as the challenges of surgical management of a pregnant
abdomen, increases the seriousness of such presentation.Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: September 19, 2008
Accepted:
September 8,
2008
Received in revised form:
August 3,
2008
Received:
May 2,
2008
Identification
Copyright
© 2009 American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
