A Case of Laparoscopic-assisted Treatment of Small Bowel Intussusception Due to Metastases from Malignant Melanoma - a Word of Caution

During the last four decades, the laparoscopic surgery gradually underwent a full recognition and nowadays it is a “gold standard” treatment for many elective conditions and recently in a wide variety of emergent conditions. However, its use in bowel obstruction is still under debate, and high-level evidence is lacking. Herein we present a case of 36-year-old man with small bowel intussusception due to metastases from melanoma treated laparoscopically. Diagnostic challenges and pitfalls of laparoscopic treatment are discussed. Multiple gastrointestinal metastases should be considered in all cases with small bowel obstruction and a history of melanoma. Although laparoscopy is increasingly used in emergency setting and appears to be the feasible and safe treatment of small bowel obstruction, it should be used with a caution in cases with suspected metastasized malignant melanoma.