Emergency laparoscopic surgery on a patient who visited the emergency room with lower abdominal pain

Abstract

Internal hernias account for fewer than 6% of all small intestinal obstructions; of these, hernias caused by defects in the sigmoid colon are particularly challenging to detect. Misdiagnosis may occur if non-surgical symptoms (such as rebound tenderness) are not observed in the emergency room. We report the case of a consent who visited the emergency room with recurrent non-specific lower abdominal pain. She exhibited an internal hernia that had triggered small intestinal ischemia between the mesosigmoid (mesentery) and ovary. A 36-year-old female patient visited the emergency room of our hospital with acute left-lower abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting that occurred 1 h after meals. We found no palpable mass or enlarged organ. Abdominal computed tomography (CT) revealed segmental small bowel wall thickening with mesenteric congestion in the left-lower quadrant, and small bowel ischemia attributable to internal herniation or adhesion. In addition, a small amount of pelvic ascites and multiple liver cysts were observed. A surgeon was immediately consulted and emergency laparoscopic surgery was performed.