Pediatric Meckel Diverticulum Treatment & Management

  • Author: Simon S Rabinowitz, MD, PhD; Chief Editor: Carmen Cuffari, MD   more...
 
Updated: Mar 18, 2010
 

Medical Care

The emergency department evaluation and treatment of patients depends on the clinical presentation of Meckel diverticulum.

  • Because most symptomatic patients are acutely ill, establish an intravenous line immediately, start crystalloid fluids, and keep the patient on nothing by mouth (NPO) status. Obtain the blood investigations suggested above with a type and cross match.
  • If significant bleeding occurs, perform a transfusion of packed red cells.
  • A patient who presents with intestinal obstruction usually requires nasogastric decompression; also perform plain radiography of the abdomen.
  • When a child presents with bleeding, specifically a dark tarry stool, perform a gastric lavage to rule out upper GI bleeding. If the gastric lavage is negative for bleeding, consider an upper endoscopy and flexible sigmoidoscopy.
  • Meckel scan results may be negative despite a high clinical suspicion of Meckel diverticulum. The surgery team should be consulted to discuss the possible need for laparoscopy and/or laparotomy.
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Surgical Care

If the patient is bleeding but is hemodynamically stable, a Meckel scan is warranted. On the other hand, the presence of peritoneal signs or hemodynamic instability demands urgent surgical intervention. Signs of small bowel obstruction also require surgical intervention.[25]

  • Definitive treatment of a complication, such as a bleeding Meckel diverticulum, is the excision of the diverticulum along with the adjacent ileal segment.
    • Excision is carried out by performing a wedge resection of adjacent ileum and anastomosis, with the use of a stapling device. Adjacent ileum is included in the resection because ulcers frequently develop in the adjacent part of the ileum.[26]
    • Successful resection of a Meckel diverticulum, even in children and infants, can also be accomplished through laparoscopy, using an endoscopically designed autostapling device.[27, 28, 29]
    • In some cases of Meckel diverticulum, a primitive persistent right vitelline artery originating from the mesentery has been found during operation. When present, the artery is found to supply the Meckel diverticulum; therefore, it must be identified and ligated during the operation.
  • Management of Meckel diverticulum in asymptomatic patients is controversial.
    • In the past, if a Meckel diverticulum was encountered in a patient undergoing abdominal surgery for some other intra-abdominal condition, many surgeons recommended its removal.
    • This practice was questioned when a large series described an overall 4.2% likelihood of complications in Meckel diverticulum and a decreasing risk with increasing age. These authors concluded that assuming a 6% mortality rate from Meckel diverticulum complications, 400 asymptomatic diverticula would have to be excised to save one patient.[30]
    • Another faction favors prophylactic removal of a diverticulum, which is a simple operation. This view is supported by data that demonstrate that managing a complication of Meckel diverticulum is associated with high morbidity and mortality rates. Others feel the only exception to universal excision is if the diverticulum is so broad based or so short that stapled excision cannot be performed technically. Fortunately, patients are less likely to develop complications in both of these situations.
    • One recent small series suggested that only patients younger than 50 years clearly benefitted from removal if discovered unintentionally.[31]
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Consultations

  • Radiologist
  • Surgeon
  • Gastroenterologist
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Contributor Information and Disclosures
Author

Simon S Rabinowitz, MD, PhD  Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, New York Medical College; Chairman, Chief and Medical Administrator, Department of Pediatrics, Chief, Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Richmond University Medical Center

Simon S Rabinowitz, MD, PhD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Pediatrics, American Association for the Advancement of Science, American College of Gastroenterology, American Gastroenterological Association, American Medical Association, New York Academy of Sciences, North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Phi Beta Kappa, and Sigma Xi

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Coauthor(s)

Hongye Li, MD  Resident Physician, Department of Pediatrics, Richmond University Medical Center, New York

Hongye Li, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Pediatrics and American Society of Nephrology

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Specialty Editor Board

Alan D Schmetzer, MD  Professor and Vice-Chair for Education, Director of Residency Training, Department of Psychiatry, Indiana University School of Medicine

Alan D Schmetzer, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, American Gastroenterological Association, American Society of Transplant Surgeons, and North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Mary L Windle, PharmD  Adjunct Associate Professor, University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Pharmacy; Pharmacy Editor, eMedicine

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Carmen Cuffari, MD  Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Gastroenterology/Nutrition, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Carmen Cuffari, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Gastroenterology, American Gastroenterological Association, North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, and Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Steven M Schwarz, MD, FAAP, FACN, AGAF  Professor of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital at Downstate, SUNY-Downstate Medical Center

Steven M Schwarz, MD, FAAP, FACN, AGAF is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Nutrition, American College of Physician Executives, American Gastroenterological Association, American Pediatric Society, Gastroenterology Research Group, New York Academy of Medicine, North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, and Society for Pediatric Research

Disclosure: Curemark, LLC Consulting fee Board membership; Centocor, Inc. Grant/research funds Independent contractor; Johnson & Johnson, Inc. Grant/research funds Independent contractor

Chief Editor

Carmen Cuffari, MD  Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Gastroenterology/Nutrition, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Carmen Cuffari, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Gastroenterology, American Gastroenterological Association, North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, and Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

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Anteroposterior view of abdominal radiograph showing multiple dilated loops of a small bowel with air-fluid levels.
 
 
 
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