Incidence of Meckel's Diverticulum

Kim, Tae Hyun; Choi, Kyung Hyun

Abstract

PURPOSE: Meckel's diverticulum, an omphalomesenteric remnant, is the most common congenital anomaly of the human gastrointestinal tract. The incidence of Meckel's diverticulum varies from 1% to 3% in the general population. However the incidence has not been previously reported in Korea. Therefore, we performed a prospective study to determine the incidence of Meckel's diverticulum in Korea.
METHODS
During the 9 years from March 1992 to February 2000, cases of Meckel's diverticula were examined prospectively in 806 (530 males and 276 females) patients who underwent laparotomy due to various intra-abdomimal diseases at Gospel Hospital, Kosin University. We looked for the presence of Meckel's diverticulum by inspecting the small intestine throughout its entire length from the ileocecal junction to the Treitz ligament. We recorded the distance from the terminal ileum and the length of the Meckel's diverticulum. In principle, we did not excise the Meckel's diverticulum.
RESULTS
Meckel's diverticula were detected in 17 patients (2.1%). 12 patients were male (2.3%) and 5 were female (1.8%). The male to female ratio was 1.3:1. Meckel's diverticula were located 40~110 (81.3+/-19.9) cm proximal to the ileocecal junction. The mean length of the Meckel's diverticulum was 3.5+/-1.8 cm (range, 1.5~7 cm).
CONCLUSION
The incidence of Meckel's diverticulum in Korea was 2.1%, similar to western countries. Meckel's diverticulum was seen as frequently in males as in females.