Secondary prevention

Most patients are asymptomatic. Meckel diverticulum is frequently an incidental finding on radiologic studies or during surgical abdominal exploration.

Given reports of a lifetime risk of 4.2% to 9% for the development of symptomatic Meckel diverticulum (i.e., bleeding, obstruction, inflammation/perforation), some have suggested that Meckel diverticulum found incidentally during abdominal surgery should be resected prophylactically in an attempt to prevent symptoms developing.[1][7][8][24] However, incidental diverticulectomy as a means of prevention remains controversial, as prophylactic resection is associated with risks and complications. One meta-analysis reported that 758 prophylactic diverticulectomies would need to be performed to prevent one Meckel diverticulum-related death, and concluded that available evidence does not support the resection of incidentally detected Meckel diverticulum.​[7]​ 

Although publications increasingly favor resection for asymptomatic Meckel diverticulum discovered intraoperatively, the decision should be individualized based on the patient’s condition and primary reason for surgery.[45]​ See Management approach.

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