Intussusception caused by heterotopic gastric mucosa in small intestine: a case report

BACKGROUND Intestinal intussusception is the most frequent cause of small bowel obstruction in children between the ages of 2 months and 5 years and often remains idiopathic in etiology, even after surgery. On microscopic examination, in intussusception normal mucosa is noted but in a few cases heterotopic tissue can be seen. Heterotopic gastric mucosa in the small intestine is extremely rare except for its occurrence in remnants of Meckel's diverticulum. In view of the rarity of this condition, we report a case of ectopic gastric mucosa in the small intestine that was not associated with remnants of vitelline duct. CASE PRESENTATION A 6-year-old boy of Indo-Aryan ethnicity from India presented with episodes of acute abdominal pain and distension with vomiting and non-passage of stools. On ultrasonography intussusception was suspected. A laparotomy was done and the ileal segment (tip of intussusception) was sent for histopathological examination. On histopathology, sections from the tip of intussusception showed extensive gastric metaplasia of the mucosa. CONCLUSIONS A definitive diagnosis of heterotopic gastric mucosa is established by histopathological examination and it is important to differentiate heterotopia, which is a developmental anomaly, from metaplasia, which is an acquired condition. Heterotopic gastric mucosa is usually clinically silent and surgical intervention can be considered in patients with complications such as gastrointestinal hemorrhage and intestinal obstruction.