Diverticula may rarely be encountered in the stomach.
Proposed mechanism: point of weakness in the gastric wall, allowing for a ballooning outward.
Diverticula may be congenital or acquired.
True diverticula contain all layers of the gastric wall. Pseudodiverticula do not contain all of the wall layers.
A partial diverticulum is one that extends only into the muscularis propria.
Multiple diverticula may be present.
The lesions may be symptomatic (pain, nausea, vomiting, vague abdominal complaints) or may be identified during an evaluation for another complaint.
The lesions can be identified on imaging studies as a round or oval pouch in the gastric wall.
Complications:
(1) gastrointestinal bleeding
(2) perforation
The diagnosis requires exclusion of other diagnoses such as fistula or peptic ulceration. Pseudodiverticula can be caused by traction of perigastric adhesions (Silva et al).
