Intestinal Duplication: A Rare Cause of Occlusion in Adults

Abstract

Duplication of the digestive tract is a rare condition, usually diagnosed at a young age. Late diagnosis can be associated with complications such as bowel obstruction, hemorrhage, or perforation.
We present the case of a 60-year-old patient admitted to the emergency department due to abdominal pain and constipation.
In the computed tomography scan, she presented a large fecaloma of the sigmoid colon causing large bowel obstruction.
Intraoperatively there was an incomplete duplication of the left colon, which ended in a cul-de-sac at the mid-rectum. This duplication led to the formation of a large fecaloma in the duplicated colon that compressed and obstructed the functioning lumen.
Hartmann’s operation with a double barrel colostomy was performed. The postoperative period was uneventful; bowel continuity was restored 6 months later.