Meckel´s diverticulum is encountered occasionally in clinical practice and it is known as an anatomically and etiologically characteristic disease.
Various forms of clinical manifestations are presented according to the complication invol-ved, therefore it is very difficult to make a preoperative diagnosis.
The management of a Meckel´s diverticulum discovered incidentally during operative pro-cedure of other nature is not uniformely agree upon and it cannot be predicted which diver-ticulum will lead to complication.
During the period of 1976 to 1983, 36 Meckel´s diverticula were recorded at the Departm-ent of Surgery, Dongsan Medical Center, Keimyung University. Twenty-five cases of them were found incidentally during operation for other surgical conditions, whereas in the remai-ning 11 cases clinical signs and symptoms were caused by diverticulum itself for which exploratory laparotomy were needed.
Authors summarize the results as follow:
1) The overall sex ratio of male to female was 4. 1: 1 and 2.7: 1 in the symptomatic group, 5.3: 1 in the asymptomatic group respectively.
2) The age of 36 patients ranged from 3 days to 76 years, but 83.3% of patients were under 40 years.
3) The diverticulum was located 20 to 100 cm proximal to the ileocecal valve. 72.7% of the symptomatic group and 28% of the asymptomatic group were located within 50 cm from the ileocecal valve.
4) The diverticulum was 0.6 to l1em in length. 60% of the symptomatic group were more than 5 cm and in 88% of the asymptomatic group less than 5 cm in length.
5) The diameter of the diverticula were less than 1. 5 cm in 27.2% of the symptomatic gro-up and 52% of the asymptomatic group.
6) Appendicitis was the most frequent preoperative diagnosis in the symptomatic group and diverticulum was frequently removed during appendectomy or exploratory laparotomy follo-wing the trauma to the abdomen.
7) The most common complication of the Meckel´s diverticulum was intestinal obstruction.
8) Pathologic examinations were made of all cases, but heterotopic tissue was found only in 3 of the 11 symptomatic group and in one of the 25 asymptomatic group.
9) Intestinal resection was done in 4 cases of the symptomatic group and other symptomatic and asymptomatic patients were treated with diverticulectomy.
10) Two of the 11 symptomatic patients were found to have had exploratory laparotomy-for other diseases in the past.
11) Postoperative complications were observed in three patients of the symptomatic group; two wound infections and one postoperative obstruction.
12) There was one postoperative death from perforation in 3-day-old premature baby (33 weeks of gestation, BW: 1, 900 gm)
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