Perforation of Meckel's diverticulum by a chicken bone mimicking acute appendicitis. Case report.

Meckel's diverticulum (MD) is a congenital disorder that results from an incomplete obliteration of the vitelline duct. MD may give rise to bleeding, intestinal obstruction and inflammation; however its perforation by a foreign body is an extremely rare life-threatening complication. We report on a 52 years-old Brazilian Amazon man presenting symptoms and signs of acute abdomen with an initial suspicion of acute appendicitis. However, the right diagnosis was made only during exploratory laparotomy when the appendix was found to be normal, whereas MD was found to be inflamed and perforated by a chicken bone. The patient was treated successfully with resection of a segment of the ileum, including the perforated diverticulum, and had an uncomplicated postoperative course.