Introduction:

Meckel's diverticulum is the remnant of the proximal portion of the vitelline duct and represents the most frequent congenital abnormality in the gastrointestinal tract. Objective: To define the value of current diagnostic methods, complications and their causes, and the appropriate treatment for Meckel's diverticulum. Methods: Literature review was carried out in PubMed/Medline and Infomed, with the keywords Meckel's diverticulum, diagnosis, complications, treatment and the corresponding Spanish words, published in the last 5 years. Preferably, we included the articles about case series. We excluded those dedicated to pediatric cases. Results: 4260 articles were found in Medline/Pubmed and 17, in Infomed. No clinical trials, meta-analyzes or systematic reviews were found. Most of the articles reviewed refer to case presentations and some were retrospective studies. Conclusions: Meckel's diverticulum is rare in adults and is regularly diagnosed during a laparotomy for other causes. The preoperative diagnosis is difficult because the symptoms simulate those for other conditions of the right lower quadrant, acute appendicitis being the most frequent. Imaging techniques, mainly CAT, play an important role in the preoperative diagnosis. The surgical treatment for Meckel's diverticulum incidentally found is controversial. The symptomatic diverticulum must be removed together with a portion of the adjacent ileum, due to the possibility of gastric or pancreatic ectopic mucosa, as well as associated tumors. Mortality rates in these patients are high. Early diagnosis avoids additional complications and prolonged hospital stay.

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