Sonographic Findings of Meckel's Diverticulum

Abstract

Purpose: Meckel's diverticulum is a common congenital anomaly of the gastrointestinal tract. Although scintigraphy has high positive and negative predictive values for the diagnosis, the preoperative diagnosis of Meckel's diverticulum remains difficult because of its diverse symptoms. Moreover, the sensitivity of scintigraphy is low in patients with anemia and in patients without gastric mucosa in Meckel's diverticulum. In this report, we discuss the usefulness of ultrasonography for Meckel's diverticulum. Method: We retrospectively studied sonographic findings of Meckel's diverticulum in eight patients who were admitted to our hospital from 2003 to 2006. Result: The five symptomatic cases were preoperatively diagnosed by ultrasonography. In one patient, Meckel's diverticulum was present as a cystic-like structure the wall of which consisted of two layers. In two patients, a gut-like structure was attached to the umbilical region. In one patient, the perforated Meckel's diverticulum had a pseudocyst formation. In another patient, inverted Meckel's diverticulum was detected. Four of them received scintigraphy evaluation, and were suspected as Meckel's diverticulum. The one resulting case had a false negative because of anemia. Ultrasonography could not detect the Meckel's diverticulum in two cases without symptoms and one case of ileus. These three patients did not have preoperative scintigraphic examination. Conclusion: For the patients with Meckel's diverticulum, ultrasonography is a useful tool, especially in patients with anemia and in patients without gastric mucosa in Meckel's diverticulum. We know of a few previous study that has described the ultrasonographic appearances of Meckel's diverticulum, and it is important to know the findings of complicated Meckel's diverticulum.