Hemorrhagic Infarction of the Small Intestine due to Transmesenteric Hernia in an Adolescent: A Case Report

Korean J Leg Med. 2012 May;36(1):102-106. English.

Division of Forensic Medicine, National Forensic Service, Seoul, Korea, giifpap@korea.kr

Transmesenteric hernia is so infrequent that sudden unexpected death due to this condition is a very rare occurrence. Because the disease usually occurs in pediatric populations, it is a very rarely observed in adolescents or adults. We report an autopsy case of transmesenteric hernia diagnosed postmortem in an 18-year-old boy who died suddenly after complaining of acute abdominal pains with nausea. Physical examinations, simple abdominal radiographs, and abdominal CT scans failed to provide a clear diagnosis of the illness for 37 h in the hospital. At autopsy, a small round defect of the small bowel mesentery was found, through which a long segment of the small intestine herniated, accompanied by hemorrhagic infarction induced by strangulation obstruction. We would like to present and review this rare autopsy case with medicolegal viewpoints.

Key words : transmesenteric hernia, hemorrhagic infarction, small intestine, sudden death, adolescent

Case report