Surgical complications of Meckel's diverticulae: a review of seven cases

Seven cases of Meckel's diverticulae were reported out of 830 laparotomies performed at Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital (ISTH), Irrua, Nigeria, between January 1997 and December 2003, giving an incidence of 0.84% in our series. There were five males and two females. Their mean age was 33 years. Out of the seven cases of Meckel's diverticulae, six presented as surgical emergencies. There were three cases of diverticulitis, two of intestinal obstruction due to bands, and one case formed the apex of an intussusception, which presented as an appendix mass. There were no cases of gastro-intestinal bleeding, fistulae, perforation or tumour. Four of the cases were diagnosed pre-operatively as acute appendicitis or appendix mass and had the typical appendicectomy in addition to the excision of the diverticulum. All excised specimens were confirmed histologically. There was no mortality.