CLINICAL CASES   

Minerva Pediatrica 2006 October;58(5):495-8

Copyright © 2006 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Small bowel intussusception by local recurrence of an inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor: report of a case and review of the literature

Zuccarello C., Arena F., Fazzari C., Arena S., Nicòtina P. A.

¹ Unit of Pediatric Surgery Department of Medical and Surgical Pediatric Sciences University of Messina, Messina, Italy 2 Unit of Histopathological Diagnosis Department of Human Pathology University of Messina, Messina, Italy

Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor (IMT) of the ileum is a rare, usually solitary lesion, that frequently presents small-intestinal intussusception and obstruction. We describe an IMT of the ileum in a 4.5-year old child who presented a small bowel intussusception. During laparotomy, an annular mass around the ileum was resected, and the IMT was histologically diagnosed. Three months after the operation, the patients were hospitalized with the symptoms of intestinal obstruction. Laparotomy showed a ileal intussusception. Along the previous suture line of anastomosis, a smooth polypoid tumor was evident. Segmental resection of the ileum, including the tumor mass, was performed. The IMT was immunohistochemically diagnosed. The patient was asymptomatic at 3 year follow-up. A review of the literature for this rare entity emphasizes the importance of immunohistochemical confirmation of its benign nature. Because of the risk of local recurrence, IMT cases should have a long-term follow-up.