Adult intussusception caused by an intestinal lipoma: report of a case.

Intussusception in adults represents only 5% of all cases and is usually caused by a small bowel lesion acting as the apex of the intussusception. We report an unusual case of intussusception in man caused by a lipomatous lesion located in the ileum acting as the lead point. After repeated admissions to our hospital for ileus, the possibility of intussusception was finally raised by a computed tomographic scan of the abdomen. The patient underwent primary resection of the intussuscepted intestine, which resulted in a long-lasting resolution of the symptoms. The resected specimen contained a round tumor measuring 27 x 27 x 40 mm which was diagnosed histopathologically as an intestinal lipoma. This case highlights the uncommon causation of adult intussusception by an intestinal lipoma.