Introduction

Gastric volvulus is a rare condition described as a surgical emergency with mortality rates of up to 50%. Clinical suspicion should be confirmed with contrasted images, which must be performed in a timely manner, in order to establish a diagnostic and propose a therapeutic approach based on the clinical stability of the patients, their comorbidities, and the axis of the volvulated stomach. This condition can be treated both surgically and non-surgically.

Case presentation

A 43-year-old man who for the past 2 years presented dysphagia and epigastralgia, predominantly postprandial, which were exacerbated a week before his admission to the emergency department. An endoscopy of the upper gastrointestinal tract led to a diagnosis of hourglass stomach, while an upper gastrointestinal X-ray showed a mesenterioaxial gastric volvulus. The patient underwent an exploratory laparotomy in which the gastric volvulus was corrected. The procedure was successful, and the patient had an adequate recovery without complications.

Conclusion

Considering the high mortality described in patients with gastric volvulus, a precise diagnosis is required to decide whether the patients are candidates for non-surgical (conservative) or surgical treatment. The most commonly performed procedure is open anterior gastropexy, which was performed in the reported patient with satisfactory results.

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