Objective: Although the small bowel has the largest surface area in the gastrointestinal system, its tumors are rare. Since most of these tumors are clinically silent, diagnosis can be difficult. The aim of this study is to evaluate the demographic data, presentation symptoms, diagnostic methods, and pathologies of the cases operated for small bowel tumors.
Methods: In our study, the data of 48 consecutive cases, operated for small bowel neoplasms in the Trauma and Emergency Surgery unit of a tertiary hospital between January 1, 2012, and December 31, 2021, were analyzed retrospectively.
Results: A total of 40 cases were included. Eight patients had (20%) gastrointestinal stromal tumor, 3 patients (7%) had neuroendocrine tumor, 2 patients had (5%) sarcoma, 4 patients had (10%) lymphoma, 4 (10%) patients had inflammatory polyp, 3 patients had (7%) adenocarcinomas, and 2 patients had (5%) undif- ferentiated malignant tumors. In 8 cases, recurrence of malignancy was detected in the follow-up period.
Conclusion: Small bowel neoplasms usually cause emergency admissions with nonspecific symptoms. These cases constitute an important group that should be kept in mind, and early recognition of rare small bowel malignancies in this group is important in terms of prognosis and survival of the disease.