Surprise in the operating room: Meckel’s diverticulum complications

Meckel's diverticulum is the most common congenital anomaly of the gastrointestinal tract, with an incidence of approximately 2%. While the majority of cases remain asymptomatic, significant clinical complications such as gastrointestinal bleeding, intestinal obstruction, perforation, and inflammation may develop in some cases. In this study, three different complications of Meckel's diverticulum that eluded preoperative diagnosis are presented: diverticular bleeding detected only during intraoperative colonoscopy in a 24-year-old male patient; intestinal ischemia due to mesodiverticular band in a 26-year-old male patient; and adhesive small bowel obstruction and ischemia resulting from diverticulitis in a 50-year-old male patient. This case report highlights the diagnostic difficulties and surgical management strategies of Meckel's diverticulum complications while also demonstrating the clinical importance of considering this entity in the differential diagnosis of patients presenting with unexplained abdominal pain. Given the diagnostic limitations of current imaging modalities, surgical exploration in suspected cases has both diagnostic and therapeutic value.