Abstract

Background: Meckel’s diverticulum is the most common congenital abnormality of the small intestine, with an incidence about 2% of the population. It is asymptomatic in most cases. When symptomatic, it’s most common clinical presentation is bleeding in children and intestinal obstruction in adults. Small intestinal polyps are a challenging clinical problem. They present with various symptoms and their diagnosis is difficult due to limitations in radiographic and endoscopic detection.
Case report: We present a case of a 25 –years old male patient with chronic intermittent abdominal pain, who was admitted to our department for an elective laparoscopic resection of a small intestinal polyp, diagnosed via CT and MRI enterography. However, laparoscopy revealed a Meckel’s diverticulum and no other pathology of the small intestine.
Conclusion: Both Meckel’s diverticulum and small intestinal polyps are rare conditions and their differential diagnosis is challenging. A high clinical index of suspicion is demanded, as well as accurate radiographic and endoscopic tests in order to diagnose and therefore treat symptomatic patients.

Key words: Meckel’s diverticulum, small intestine polyp, misdiagnosed Meckel’s diverticulum