Acute Intestinal Obstruction Complicating Abdominal Pregnancy: Conservative Management and Successful Outcome

Background. Acute intestinal obstruction during pregnancy is a very challenging and unusual nonobstetric surgical entity often linked with considerable fetomaternal morbidity and mortality. When it is synchronous with abdominal pregnancy, it is even rarer. Case Presentation. A 28-year-old lady in he...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Gerald Okanandu Udigwe, George Uchenna Eleje, Eric Chukwudi Ihekwoaba, Onyebuchi Izuchukwu Udegbunam, Richard Obinwanne Egeonu, Ayodele Obianuju Okwuosa
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2016-01-01
Series:Case Reports in Obstetrics and Gynecology
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/2576280
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Background. Acute intestinal obstruction during pregnancy is a very challenging and unusual nonobstetric surgical entity often linked with considerable fetomaternal morbidity and mortality. When it is synchronous with abdominal pregnancy, it is even rarer. Case Presentation. A 28-year-old lady in her second pregnancy was referred to Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, Nnewi, Nigeria, at 27 weeks of gestation due to vomiting, constipation, and abdominal pain. Examination and ultrasound scan revealed a single live intra-abdominal extrauterine fetus. Plain abdominal X-ray was diagnostic of intestinal obstruction. Conservative treatment was successful till the 34-week gestational age when she had exploratory laparotomy. At surgery, the amniotic sac was intact and the placenta was found to be adherent to the gut. There was also a live female baby with birth weight of 2.3 kg and Apgar scores of 9 and 10 in the 1st and 5th minutes, respectively, with the baby having right clubbed foot. Adhesiolysis and right adnexectomy were done. The mother and her baby were well and were discharged home nine days postoperatively. Conclusion. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of abdominal pregnancy as the cause of acute intestinal obstruction in the published literature. Management approach is multidisciplinary.
ISSN:2090-6684
2090-6692