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Meckel’s Diverticulum

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Illustrative Handbook of General Surgery

Abstract

Located on the anti-mesenteric border of the distal ileum, Meckel’s diverticulum is the most commonly encountered congenital anomaly of the GI tract. Patients with a Meckel’s diverticulum may develop symptoms related to diverticulitis, bowel obstruction or GI bleeding. An inflamed diverticulum will present with localized peritonitis and can be identified with ultrasound or CT scan imaging. To investigate whether GI bleeding is due to a Meckel’s diverticulum, patients are typically evaluated with a nuclear medicine technetium 99 m pertechnetate scan, known as a Meckel’s scan. Presence of a symptomatic diverticulum is most often confirmed by diagnostic laparoscopy, and treatment involves either diverticulectomy or segmental small bowel resection.

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Correspondence to Charles M. Leys MD, MSCI .

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© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

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Burke, J.F., Leys, C.M. (2016). Meckel’s Diverticulum. In: Chen, H. (eds) Illustrative Handbook of General Surgery. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-24557-7_18

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-24557-7_18

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-24555-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-24557-7

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