The Desmoid Tumor Research Foundation

May 2026

Complicated intra-abdominal fibromatosis masked by a perforated jejunal diverticulitis

Author Information

Sadik Al-Hassani 1, Osama Zaman 1, Adrian Hall 2, Shikha Singhal 3, Akinfemi Ayobami Akingboye 4 5

1Department of General Surgery, The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust, Dudley, UK. 2Department of Radiology, The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust, Dudley, UK. 3Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals NHS Trust, Wolverhampton, UK. 4Department of General Surgery, The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust, Dudley, UK a.akingboye@nhs.net. 5College of Health and Life Science, Aston Medical School, Birmingham, UK.

Publication

BMJ Case Rep

Summary

Desmoid-type fibromatosis is a rare group of locally aggressive fibroblastic proliferations of connective tissue. The incidence of synchronous intra-abdominal fibromatosis and jejunal diverticulitis is unreported. Both conditions typically present with non-specific symptoms and can be challenging to diagnose.We present the case of a female patient in her 70s with a diagnosis of intra-abdominal fibromatosis and perforated jejunal diverticulitis. This patient was found to have a large distal jejunal mesenteric mass and an adjoining perforated diverticulum intraoperatively. The diagnostic laparoscopy was converted to a limited laparotomy to allow for en bloc resection of the mesenteric mass. Subsequent immunohistochemistry confirmed fibromatosis with positive β-catenin and further molecular analysis confirmed a CTNNB1 gene mutation. The patient remained clinically well at follow-up, with no evidence of recurrence.

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