Giant Meckel's Diverticulum as a Cause of Post-traumatic Hemoperitoneum in a 25-Year-Old Male: An Extremely Rare Phenomenon

Cureus. 2023 Mar 26;15(3):e36688. doi: 10.7759/cureus.36688. eCollection 2023 Mar.

Abstract

Following the "rule of 2", Meckel's Diverticulum (MD) is 2 inches or 5cm long. However, we report the case of an extremely large MD. To the best of our elucidated literature search, it is the first case of Giant Meckel's Diverticulum (GMD) from Pakistan presenting with post-traumatic hemoperitoneum. A 25-year-old Pakistani male presented to a surgical emergency with a two-hour history of generalized abdominal pain after blunt abdominal trauma. An exploratory laparotomy was carried out due to the deranged hemodynamic parameters and free fluid in the abdominopelvic cavity, revealing a 35 centimeters long MD with a bleeding vessel on its tip. Diverticulectomy with the repair of a small intestinal defect was performed after the evacuation of 2.5 liters of clotted blood. Histologic evaluation revealed ectopic gastric tissue. He had an uneventful post-operative stay and was discharged home. The current English scientific literature has adequate case reports documenting the complications of perforation, intestinal obstruction, and diverticulitis of Meckel's Diverticulum (MD) of normal length. However, this case report highlights the significance of an MD with an abnormal length which put the patient's life at risk of death in the setting of normal intra-operative anatomy of all other abdominal organs.

Keywords: blunt abdominal injury; chatgpt; diverticulectomy; explorative laparotomy; giant meckel’s diverticulum; hemoperitoneum.

Publication types

  • Case Reports