Delayed Presentation of Congenital Jejunal Web beyond the Neonatal Period

Abstract

Congenital web of the gastrointestinal tract is a rare anomaly which may present at any site of the gastrointestinal tract. In cases with an intact membrane, the presenting symptoms may take the form of complete intestinal obstruction while in other cases with a fenestrated membrane, it may present with partial intestinal obstruction such as failure to thrive, volume depletion, or poor body-weight gain, representing a chronic condition. It is very rare for a jejunal web to present with retention of accidently ingested foreign body. In this report, we document a case of 14-month boy with retention of accidently ingested button battery who was found to have a jejunal web on surgical exploration. This case report stresses on the importance of prevention of ingestion of inanimate foreign bodies especially in young infants and that the absence of symptoms does not preclude presence of foreign body in children. Also, surgeons should be prepared to deal with other unsuspected findings intraoperatively. After a review of the literature, jejunal web should be considered in the differential diagnosis of chronic partial intestinal obstruction even in adults.