[Diagnostic imaging of intestinal invaginations in the adult. Report of 9 cases].

Adult intestinal intussusception affects the distal portions of the small bowel and the colon in 90% of cases. As a rule, its nature is neoplastic, its clinical presentation aspecific and its diagnosis is frequently an occasional finding during routine imaging examinations. We report on 9 adult patients with intestinal intussusception. All patients were examined with more than one of the following imaging modalities: radiologic study of the small bowel, barium enema, ultrasonography (US), and Computed Tomography (CT). The first diagnostic suspicion of intussusception was correctly made at US in 5 patients and at CT in 4 patients. At surgery, intussusception sites were the following: jejunum in one case, ileum in two cases, ileocolon in two cases and colon in four cases. CT correctly detected lesion site in all the patients who underwent it as the first diagnostic step, while US missed lesion site in one case. Pathology diagnosed a hamartomatous jejunal polyp, a lymphomatous ileal polyp, a lymphomatous polyp of the ileocecal valve, four cecocolonic adenocarcinomas and a left colic lipoma. Lesion nature was suspected at US in one case of ileal lymphoma, while CT suggested the presence of lipoma in one case of ileoileal intussusception. Our experience shows that intussusception can be diagnosed not only with conventional radiologic modalities, but also with US and CT, which are useful to depict both the lesion and its site and extent.