Background and objectives:
Laparoscopic-assisted surgery has been applied for a variety of colonic surgery. The objective of this paper is to demonstrate a possible and avoidable complication of laparoscopic colonic surgery.
Case presentation:
A 47-year-old woman underwent gasless laparoscopic-assisted sigmoid colectomy. On the 20th postoperative day, she developed bowel obstruction. Decompression with a long tube failed to resolve the bowel obstruction. Open laparotomy was performed. Abdominal exploration revealed a loop of the small bowel incarcerated in the mesenteric defect caused by the previous operation. Adhesiolysis was performed, and the postoperative course was uneventful.
Discussion:
Despite technical difficulty, complete closure of the mesentery after bowel resection is strongly recommended for prevention of transmesenteric incarcerated hernia after laparoscopic surgery.