A case of intussusception secondary to a metastatic malignant melanoma from the nasal cavity

About 5% of all intussusception are found in adults, up to 90% of these have an anatomical lesion with ~50% of them are malignant. Malignant melanoma commonly metastasizes to the small bowel; however, melanoma causing intussusception is rare. We describe a 57-year-old lady with a history of surgically treated malignant melanoma in her nasal cavity who came with an ambiguous intestinal obstruction. Computed tomography reported ileal-ileal intussusception, which was surgically removed via emergency open laparotomy and bowel resection. Intraoperatively the intussusception was 110 cm from the ileo-cecal valve with multiple palpable lymph nodes. Histopathology confirmed the origin as malignant melanoma with lymphovascular invasion. Our literature review found the mean prevalence of intussusception secondary to melanoma was 6.924% (SD ± 5.155). Minimally invasive techniques are reported non-inferior to open laparotomy. We argue that the open technique can provide informed decisions for adequate resection of affected bowel and lymphatic drainage.