Laparoscopic Management of Simultaneous Acute Appendicitis and Volvulus of Neoplasm from Meckel's Diverticulum

Arpit Patel, MD; Alan A. Saber, MD, FACS; Adam M. Kopelan, MD, FACS

Product Details
Product ID: ACS-5557
Year Produced: 2018
Length: 6 min.


Meckel's diverticulum is the most common congenital malformation of GI tract, seen in 2% of the population. It can cause complications in the form of, GI bleeding, obstruction, perforation and, very rarely, vesicodiverticular fistulae and tumors. We are presenting a case of acute appendicitis with an incidental finding of volvulus of neoplasm from Meckel's diverticulum. Both pathologies were managed laparoscopically. Presentation: A 27-year-old female with no significant PMH presented to ED with 24H diffuse abdominal pain that became localized to the right lower quadrant. She was tachycardic with lower abdominal tenderness. Her WBC was 20.1 with a left shift. CT scan of the abdomen and pelvis was equivocal with non-filling appendix, immediately anterior to the psoas muscle, with mild wall thickening. Procedure: Diagnostic laparoscopy revealed acute appendicitis, however on further exploration free blood was fount in the pelvis. Running the small bowel from ileocecal junction reveal an incidental finding of twisted tumor from Meckel's diverticulum. The tumor was resected and the laparoscopic appendectomy was performed. Postoperative, the patient did well. She went home on POD# 2. Pathology showed a benign myxomatous tumor within the diverticulum and acute appendicitis. Conclusion: Having 2 sources of acute abdomen is extremely rare. Incidental finding of free blood within the peritoneal cavity should prompt further evaluation of the intraabdominal contents to identify the source of bleeding. Although most Meckel's diverticula in adults can be observed, one associated with a mass should be resected.