Side-to-side bowel anastomosis mimicking intussusception in a 2-year-old child with Peutz-Jeghers syndrome

Peutz-Jeghers syndrome (PJS) is a rare autosomal dominant inherited condition characterized by hamartomatous gastrointestinal polyps, mucocutaneous pigmentation, and a predisposition for malignancy. Most patients with PJS are diagnosed in the second or third decade of life, and commonly have intussusception as a complication. This report describes an unusual case of a 2-year-old male known to have PJS, who had previously developed a small bowel intussusception caused by a polyp requiring a very short segmental small bowel resection. The patient remained asymptomatic several months after the surgery and then presented with acute abdominal discomfort. On abdominal ultrasound, a target sign measuring 2.7 cm was noted in the left upper quadrant of the abdomen, suggesting a small bowel-small bowel intussusception. There was no evidence of intussusception or bowel obstruction otherwise on diagnostic laparoscopy. It was thought that the previous side-to-side anastomosis had mimicked intussusception on the ultrasound examination. A repeat abdominal ultrasound was performed 1 week after the laparoscopy when the patient was asymptomatic. This again demonstrated a target sign identical in appearance to the previous ultrasound and confirmed that the side-to side anastomosis had in fact mimicked intussusception. It is important that the pediatric gastroenterology, radiology, and surgery communities are aware of this ultrasound finding; it could impact the decision on whether to operate emergently. To our knowledge this is the first report describing this unusual scenario in humans.