Diagnostic Laparoscopy and Small Bowel Resection for a Large Meckel’s Diverticulum in Adult with Persistent GI Bleed
Julie Thomann, MD; Nicole B. Cherng, MD, FACS, FASMBS
UMass Memorial Medical Center

Symptomatic Meckel’s diverticulum is a diagnosis most commonly associated with male children under two years old. It typically presents with painless hematochezia and is diagnosed with a Meckel’s scan, which uses Technetium-99 to detect ectopic gastric tissue. In an adult with gastrointestinal bleeding, the differential is far broader, including an extensive and at times, inconclusive, work-up. Here, we describe a diagnostic laparoscopy for suspicion of Meckel’s diverticulum in a young adult male whose work-up showed evidence of small bowel bleeding without a definitive source. A large 6.2-cm, broad-based Meckel’s diverticulum was identified about 90 cm proximal to the ileocecal valve and resected via small bowel resection.