Question:
How unusual is intussusception reoccurrance??

I had surgery to correct intussusecption in August 2007, never had any surgery before, and after I felt great for 5 months. Just today I had another severe stomach attack, as I did before my surgery. I know how rare it is to even find this in adults but does anyone know if it can reoccur and what the best diagnosis is????    — JT12281 (posted on January 25, 2008)

January 25, 2008
Very rare in adults. I've known 2. One was fixed right the first time. The other was not fixed the first time and had to go back a 2nd time and by then 10" of bowel was lost.
   — vitalady

January 26, 2008
This is a rare condition that seldom happens in adults. It normally happens in infants or children. I had a double one when I was an infant of 13 months of age. The docs almost did not want to do the DS on me because of this. However they finally agreed with no recurrence in my history. I was about 1.5 yrs out from the DS when I had a problem, do not know for sure what it was, but they felt it was the start of an intussusception which they were able to drug me and relax the bowels and it unkinked...fortunately no surgery was needed. When you say stomach ,... was it cramps or pain or pain and what and which quadrant is in located in ? I know not a whole lot of help. .Just my experience. I am now almost 4.5 yrs post-op and have had not further problems. Ginger <><
   — gak

January 28, 2008
Yes it can reoccur. You have several feet of bowel and can develop intussusception anywhere along it. It is very rare in adults and having had it once may be an indication that you have something going on that may cause another occurrence. I'm not sure what you mean by "best diagnosis." If you are having the same symptoms as before, you *really* need to get to a doctor ASAP. An intussusception can block the blood flow to the affected part of the intestine. Lack of blood flow can cause damage to the bowel which may result in tissue death. Intussusception can also cause your bowel to perforate which causes your intestinal contents (fecal matter and bacteria) to leak into your abdominal cavity. Both tissue death and bowel perforation can cause a severe, life-threatening infection. Intussusceptions can sometimes be treated without surgery. Please get checked out.
   — mrsidknee