Small bowel lipoma and intussusception: a case report

Intussusception is defined as the telescoping of bowel into itself. Intussusception is the leading cause of bowel obstruction in children, but it is rare in adults [, ]. It has a pathological intramural or extramural lead point. In adults, it accounts for 1%-5% of cases of bowel obstruction [, ]. Unlike presentation in the paediatric population of cramping abdominal pain, bloody mucus, and palpable mass in right iliac fossa, presentation in adults can be more varied and non-specific [, ]. Hence, diagnosis of small bowel intussusception (SBI) can be challenging, requiring a higher degree of clinical suspicion []. While cases of paediatric intestinal intussusception are often primary, most adult cases are secondary to structural lesions []. This case is of a 57-year-old lady who presented with SBI secondary to a small bowel lipoma (SBL), reflecting the importance of considering SBL as a differential in the causes of SBI.