A Surprising Finding of Ileal Intussusception Caused by Pleural Mesothelioma Metastases

Background: Malignant pleural mesothelioma is an aggressive form of cancer originating in the pleural mesothelioma. It generally appears as a local disease in the affected hemithorax, and metastasis are rare. It is unusual for malignant pleural mesothelioma to manifest with gastrointestinal complications due to metastatic implants, but clinicians should be careful to take into consideration this hypothesis in patients with a history of malignant pleural mesothelioma referring to the Emergency Department with acute abdominal pain. Case Presentation: A 65-year-old man, with a medical history of pleural mesothelioma, presented to our emergency department for acute abdominal pain. The patient underwent abdominal ultrasound and abdominal Computed Tomography with intravenous contrast. At US examination a small bowel obstruction diagnosis was made, CT confirmed a mechanical small bowel obstruction due to an intussuscepted multiloculated mass in the terminal ileum, with CT’s signs of parietal damage; another peritoneal mass was reported adjacent to the posterior wall of the cecum and in contiguity with the iliopsoas muscle. Considering the acute medical presentation, the patient underwent surgery, with segmental bowel resection and a stapled side-by-side bowel anastomosis. Histopathology revealed metastasis of sarcomatoid pleural mesothelioma. The post-operative course was complicated by anastomotic leak treated with a conservative approach. The patient was discharged on the 24th post-operative day. Conclusion: Our case highlights the potential of pleural mesothelioma to metastasize within abdominal viscera, causing bowel obstruction. In presence of the patient’s critical clinical condition and advanced state of local disease, a surgical approach based on damage control procedure consisting in exploration, biopsies and ileostomy upstream the obstruction or, exploration and resection without anastomosis, carry on several advantages, solving the acute clinical condition, staging the disease and offering the possibility to proceed rapidly with supportive care (chemotherapy and/or surgery).