CASE REPORT article
Front. Cardiovasc. Med.
Sec. Pediatric Cardiology
Postoperative Ileocolic Intussusception 48 Hours after Congenital Heart Surgery in an Infant: A Case Report
Provisionally accepted
- 1Huazhong University of Science and Technology Tongji Medical College Tongji Hospital, Wuhan, China
- 2School of Medicine, Jianghan University, Wuhan, China
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Background: Postoperative intussusception (PI) is a rare but potentially serious complication following congenital heart surgery in infants, often misdiagnosed due to its atypical presentation. Case Presentation: A 3-month-old male infant underwent aortoplasty, ventricular septal defect (VSD) repair, and patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) ligation for congenital heart disease. Approximately 72 hours postoperatively, he developed bloody, jam-like stools. Emergency abdominal ultrasound, the first-line imaging modality, revealed ileocolic intussusception. Three attempts at ultrasound-guided hydrostatic saline enema reduction (pressure: 80 cm H₂O) were unsuccessful, necessitating surgical exploration. Laparotomy identified an 8 cm ileocolic intussusceptum and a 10 cm ischemic ileal segment without a pathological lead point. The necrotic bowel was resected, and an end-to-end anastomosis was performed. The patient recovered uneventfully, was discharged three weeks postoperatively, and demonstrated normal growth at 6-month follow-up. Conclusion: Prompt identification of postoperative intussusception—a rare complication following non-abdominal surgeries like congenital heart disease repair in infants—is of critical importance.
Keywords: Postoperative intussusception, congenital heart disease, Infant, Ileocolic, ultrasound, Laparotomy
Received: 04 Aug 2025; Accepted: 29 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Li, Ke and Yang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Jun Yang, yang12391@tom.com
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