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Successful Preoperative Diagnosis of a Rare Bowel Obstruction: Cecal Volvulus

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Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery

Abstract

Cecal volvulus is an uncommon cause of intestinal obstruction and is rarely diagnosed correctly at the time of presentation. We report a case in an 86-year-old man presented with an abrupt onset of lower abdominal distension, preoperatively diagnosed as cecal volvulus by abdominal CT. Surgery revealed a 20 cm length of the closed-loop that had rotated in a counter-clockwise rotation. A right hemicolectomy with colonic fixation was subsequently performed; early diagnosis enabled this procedure to be performed in a timely fashion. This case demonstrates the need for clinicians to consider cecal volvulus as a possible cause of acute abdomen. Performing abdominal CT studies in such patients may enable early diagnosis and prompt surgical intervention.

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Abbreviations

CT:

Computed tomography

US:

Ultrasonography

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank W. Takiyama, H. Mukaida, and other surgeons in the Department of Surgery, Hiroshima City Asa Hospital, Hiroshima, Japan, for providing clinical support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery, Akiota-town Togochi Hospital, 800-1 Oaza-Togochi, Akiota-cho, Yamagata-gun, Hiroshima, 731-3810, Japan

    Yasushi Hashimoto & Shigenori Shigemoto

  2. Department of Surgery, Division of Clinical Medical Science, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Hiroshima University, 1-2-3 Kasumi, Minami-ku, Hiroshima, 734-8551, Japan

    Yasushi Hashimoto, Akira Nakashima, Yoshiaki Murakami & Taijiro Sueda

Authors
  1. Yasushi Hashimoto
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  2. Shigenori Shigemoto
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  3. Akira Nakashima
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  4. Yoshiaki Murakami
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  5. Taijiro Sueda
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Correspondence to Yasushi Hashimoto.

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Hashimoto, Y., Shigemoto, S., Nakashima, A. et al. Successful Preoperative Diagnosis of a Rare Bowel Obstruction: Cecal Volvulus. J Gastrointest Surg 12, 202–204 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11605-007-0228-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11605-007-0228-6

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