Familial intussusception.

Intussusception, although a common cause of emergency in pediatric surgery, occurs rarely in more than one member in the same family. A genetic predisposition has been suggested in some cases. The authors report on 4 members of a family in 3 generations who suffered each an episode of idiopathic ileocolic intussusception over a period of 52 years. This is the only instance we found after reviewing 99 cases of intussusception in our hospital during the last 10 years. There was no recurrence of intussusception in any case, and no underlying anatomic abnormality was found in the 2 patients who underwent surgery.