Segmental dilatation of the duodenum.

In this article two cases of idiopathic duodenal dilation are described. These cases meet the present criteria for segmental dilations of the intestine. The onset of the clinical features was acute in one case and chronic in the other. However, the radiological images were similar in both cases and provided the diagnosis. Surgical treatment consisted of duodenal resection and tapering and was curative in one case. The other patient died shortly after surgery. The duodenal specimens showed normal three-layer duodenal architecture in the pathology study. The intramural nervous plexi were unimpaired. Angiodysplasia was found in one case. Vascular abnormalities were also found in 10 other segmentary intestinal dilatations reported in the literature. The surgical implications of this new localization of segmentary intestinal dilatation are analyzed.