Diagnosis and Treatment of Small Bowel Strangulation Due To Congenital Band: Three Cases of Congenital Band in Adults Lacking a History of Trauma or Surgery

BACKGROUND Among the causes of constipation are bands and adhesions that lead to obstructions at different points in the intestinal tract. These can occur as a consequence of healing following surgery or trauma. However, an entity known as congenital band exists where a band is present from birth. Here we report three such cases of adults with symptoms of intestinal obstruction, in whom a congenital band was discovered through exploratory laparoscopy. CASE REPORT All three of these patients presented lacking a history of any abdominal trauma or previous abdominal surgeries, a fact that is often used to exclude an adhesion as a differential. All three recovered quickly and had relief of their symptoms following surgical intervention. CONCLUSIONS Bands and adhesions are common surgical causes of small bowel obstruction, leading to symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, constipation, and obstipation. These bands almost always result from a prior abdominal surgery or from a recent abdominal trauma. The three cases presented here show a far more unusual picture of a band, one that is congenitally present, as there was an absence of such a history. This is significant because clinical suspicion of a band is often very low due to a lack of distinguishing clinical and diagnostic features, and when the past history is negative.