Purpose

Inverted Meckel’s diverticulum (IMD) is a well-established but rare disease. This study aimed to summarize the radiological and clinical characteristics of IMD, and correlates its radiological and surgical findings to obtain an accurate early preoperative diagnosis.

Method

This is a retrospective study included IMD patients from a large children’s medical center in China, between January 2009 and March 2022. We reviewed demographic data, clinical manifestations, preoperative examinations, surgical findings, histopathological results, and outcomes.

Results

Twenty-three cases with IMD (14 male patients [60.9%]; median age, 6.7 years; age range, 9 months to 13 years) were retrospectively reviewed over a period of 13 years. The typical clinical manifestations of IMD included abdominal pain, vomiting, and abdominal tenderness. The most commonly used imaging modalities were abdominal ultrasound and computed tomography. This is the first case series on pediatric IMD, that describes the clinical process of IMD, proposes clinical phases of IMD, and first summarizes the radiological findings characteristic of each clinical phase.

Conclusions

The clinical process of IMD can be divided into four phases (intussuscepted Meckel’s diverticulum [MD], inverting MD, inverted MD, intussusception secondary to IMD). Patients in different clinical phases present with various radiological features. Mastering the radiological and clinical characteristics of each phase of IMD can aid in its early diagnosis and timely operative intervention, thus avoiding unnecessary intestinal necrosis and resection.