Chen XR, Guo HY, Liang R, Zhang CY, Yuan XB, Wang XF. Congenital gastrojejunal fistula in an asymptomatic adult: A case report. World J Gastrointest Surg 2026; 18(7): 120053 [DOI: 10.4240/wjgs.120053]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Xian-Fei Wang, MD, Chief Physician, Department of Gastroenterology, Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College, No. 1 Maoyuan South Road, Nanchong 637000, Sichuan Province, China. 2750853458@qq.com
Research Domain of This Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Article-Type of This Article
case-report
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Xin-Rui Chen, Hai-Yang Guo, Cheng-Yu Zhang, Xiang-Bin Yuan, Xian-Fei Wang, Department of Gastroenterology, Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong 637000, Sichuan Province, China
Xin-Rui Chen, Hai-Yang Guo, Cheng-Yu Zhang, Xian-Fei Wang, Branch of National Clinical Research Center for Digestive Diseases, Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong 637000, Sichuan Province, China
Rui Liang, Department of Radiology, Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong 637100, Sichuan Province, China
Co-first authors: Xin-Rui Chen and Hai-Yang Guo.
Co-corresponding authors: Xian-Fei Wang and Xiang-Bin Yuan.
Author contributions: Chen XR and Guo HY contributed equally to manuscript writing, editing, and data collection as co-first authors; Liang R and Zhang CY contributed to data collection; Yuan XB and Wang XF contributed to conceptualization and supervision as co-corresponding authors; and all authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Informed consent statement: Written informed consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this report and any accompanying images.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the CARE Checklist (2016), and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CARE Checklist (2016).
Corresponding author: Xian-Fei Wang, MD, Chief Physician, Department of Gastroenterology, Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College, No. 1 Maoyuan South Road, Nanchong 637000, Sichuan Province, China. 2750853458@qq.com
Received: February 13, 2026 Revised: March 18, 2026 Accepted: April 8, 2026 Published online: July 27, 2026 Processing time: 164 Days and 16.7 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Gastrojejunal fistula is a rare clinical entity. Most reported cases are secondary, resulting from conditions such as peptic ulcer disease, malignancy, or prior surgery. We present a rare case of congenital gastrojejunal fistula, definitively diagnosed in an asymptomatic adult, to add to the limited data on this rare malformation.
CASE SUMMARY
A 56-year-old man underwent gastroscopy during a routine physical examination, which revealed a mucosal depression in the upper greater curvature of the stomach with smooth surrounding mucosa. He had no abdominal symptoms, and physical examination was unremarkable. Abdominal contrast-enhanced computed tomography and upper gastrointestinal contrast study suggested a gastrojejunal fistula. Diagnostic laparoscopy confirmed a congenital gastrojejunal fistula with a small orifice in the gastric fundus, allowing only minimal passage of food directly into the jejunum. Because the patient was asymptomatic and the fistula had no impact on his growth, development, or quality of life, no therapeutic intervention was performed, and regular follow-up was recommended.
CONCLUSION
This case highlights that incidentally identified gastrojejunal fistulas in adults may be congenital and underscores the value of multimodality imaging with laparoscopy for diagnosis.
Core Tip: We report a rare case of congenital gastrojejunal fistula in an asymptomatic 56-year-old man, diagnosed incidentally on routine gastroscopy. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography, upper gastrointestinal contrast study, and diagnostic laparoscopy confirmed the diagnosis. To our knowledge, no adult cases of this condition have been previously reported. This case highlights the essential role of multimodality imaging for accurate anatomical assessment and guiding appropriate management.
