Intestinal duplication is a rare congenital anomaly. The diagnostic approach is difficult because of the differences in its location and clinical presentation. To evaluate the diagnostic as well as the therapeutic approaches in children, the medical records of 20 patients with intestinal duplications which had been operated upon from July 1980 to October 2002 were analyzed, retrospectively. The range of age was from 1 day to 11 years. The variables, such as age, sex, clinical presentation, diagnostic method, localization, anatomic type, treatment, complication, and combined anomalies were analyzed. Most of the cases were presented as incidental finding. The majority of the duplications except hindgut were cystic type. Treatment included segmental intestinal resection, excision of the lesion without intestinal resection, and septotomy. Seventy-five percent of the patients were detected before 1 year of age. The anatomic type of the lesion was closely related with its location. The cases of hindgut were almost always tubular type except 1 case. Clinical presentation was related to age, location, and anatomic type. There were no specific diagnostic methods. Perfect localization and application of appropriate operation are the most important requirements for successful treatment.
