Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2019 Mar 8;12(3):e228863.
doi: 10.1136/bcr-2018-228863.

Transverse colon volvulus in a patient with sickle cell disease

Hussain Adnan Abdulla  1 , Eman Hamza  2 , Ali Dhaif  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

Transverse colon volvulus in a patient with sickle cell disease

Hussain Adnan Abdulla et al. BMJ Case Rep. .

Abstract

Although colonic volvulus is a relatively rare cause of large bowel obstruction, accounting for up to 5% of all cases of intestinal obstruction, transverse colon volvulus is extremely uncommon compared with volvulus of the sigmoid colon or caecum and is responsible for only 3% of all reported cases. We report an unusual case of spontaneous volvulus of the transverse colon in a young man with sickle cell disease who underwent resection with primary anastamosis. Having a high index of suspicion and early operative intervention allowed for this patient to have an uneventful postoperative course.

Keywords: gastrointestinal surgery; general surgery; sickle cell disease; surgery.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Abdominal X-ray showing air–fluid levels, dilated small bowel loops and ‘U-shaped’ loop in the left hemidiaphragm.
Figure 2
Figure 2
CT scan showing dilated small bowel and transverse colon filled with faecal matter.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Gross specimen showing dilated small bowel and transverse colon rotated 360o on its mesentery.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Kallio KB. Uber volvulus coli transversii. Act Chir Scand 1932;70:39–58.
    1. Sparks DA, Dawood MY, Chase DM, et al. . Ischemic volvulus of the transverse colon: A case report and review of literature. Cases J 2008;1:174 10.1186/1757-1626-1-174 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Sana L, Ali G, Kallel H, et al. . Spontaneous transverse colon volvulus. Pan Afr Med J 2013;14:160 10.11604/pamj.2013.14.160.2073 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ballantyne GH, Brandner MD, Beart RW, et al. . Volvulus of the colon. Incidence and mortality. Ann Surg 1985;202:83–92. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Severiche D, Rincon RA, Montoya A. Two case reports of spontaneous transverse colon volvulus. Rev Col Gastroenterol 2016;31:54–8.

Publication types