Ileal duplications in adults. Presentation and treatment.

Alimentary tract duplications are uncommon anomalies that usually present in childhood. They are most common in the ileum but can occur anywhere along the alimentary tract. In this report, we describe an adult with an ileal duplication and review 12 other reported cases of ileal duplication in adults. Abdominal pain, nausea and/or vomiting, weight loss, and hematochezia were the most common symptoms. No patient was correctly diagnosed before operation. Three patients had malignant neoplasm in the resected specimens. Resection of the duplication and adjacent bowel is recommended because of the common blood supply to both, the possibility of malignant degeneration, and the risk of gastrointestinal ulceration and hemorrhage from ectopic gastric mucosa.