Two Cases of Type 2 Diabetes Patients With Gastric Volvulus Treated by Gastrostomy

Abstract

Gastric volvulus is a rare disease in adults. Few cases of gastric volvulus are encountered in the care of ordinary patients. We herein report two cases of gastric volvulus which we experienced in our facility. Both cases involved patients with a long-term clinical history of type 2 diabetes. Case 1 was a 93-year-old male with a more than three-decade history of type 2 diabetes who was brought to the emergency room (ER) of our hospital with sudden-onset severe epigastric pain and fullness. Case 2 was an 84-year-old female with type 2 diabetes who was brought to the ER with symptoms of acute postprandial emesis and epigastric pain. Both patients had a history of recurrent visits to the ER with similar symptoms since their 80s. After a careful review of their CT scan images, the patients were eventually diagnosed with gastric volvulus. Although laparotomic or laparoscopic gastric fixation is generally used to cure gastric volvulus, percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy was successfully applied in both of our cases. Based on our experience with these patients, the diagnosis of gastric volvulus should be considered in patients with type 2 diabetes who present with acute-onset stomach symptoms.