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Case Report
An unusual presentation of small bowel volvulus: A case report
1 Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia
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Ghassan Almaimani
Assistant Professor, Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University, Al Abdeyah, PO Box 7607, Makkah,
Saudi Arabia
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Article ID: 101438Z01AR2024
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How to cite this article
Almaimani G. An unusual presentation of small bowel volvulus: A case report. Int J Case Rep Images 2024;15(1):22–26.ABSTRACT
Introduction: Small bowel volvulus (SBV) is a surgical emergency that requires prompt diagnosis and treatment. Although sudden onset acute abdominal pain is the most common presenting symptom, the clinical presentation of SBV can be misleading. Early diagnosis and treatment are therefore crucial for a good outcome.
Case Report: A 49-year-old woman presented with a 5-hour history of nausea as her only symptom. Six hours after admission, she developed multiple episodes of vomiting, but without abdominal pain. An urgent CT of the abdomen revealed a pathognomonic “whirl” pattern highly suggestive of SBV, and emergency laparoscopy revealed ileal volvulus without any identifiable pathoetiological factors. She underwent simple devolvulation and made a rapid recovery without recurrence at 12 months.
Conclusion: This case highlights that the preoperative clinical diagnosis of small bowel volvulus can be challenging, emphasizing the importance of preoperative imaging and maintaining a high index of suspicion to avoid missing this important diagnosis. A laparoscopic approach can be used successfully to treat SBV.
Keywords: Computed tomography, Diagnosis, Small bowel volvulus, Whirl sign
SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Acknowledgments
We are thankful to the patient for allowing us to report her medical report as a case report.
Author ContributionsGhassan Almaimani - Substantial contributions to conception and design, Acquisition of data, Analysis of data, Interpretation of data, Drafting the article, Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published
Guarantor of SubmissionThe corresponding author is the guarantor of submission.
Source of SupportNone
Consent StatementWritten informed consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this article.
Data AvailabilityAll relevant data are within the paper and its Supporting Information files.
Conflict of InterestAuthor declares no conflict of interest.
Copyright© 2024 Ghassan Almaimani. This article is distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium provided the original author(s) and original publisher are properly credited. Please see the copyright policy on the journal website for more information.
