Case Report
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2021. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. May 26, 2021; 9(15): 3696-3703
Published online May 26, 2021. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v9.i15.3696
Recurrent abdominal pain due to small bowel volvulus after transabdominal preperitoneal hernioplasty: A case report and review of literature
Yi Man, Bao-Shan Li, Xin Zhang, Huang Huang, Yin-Long Wang
Yi Man, Bao-Shan Li, Xin Zhang, Huang Huang, Yin-Long Wang, Department of Hernia Surgery, Tianjin Union Medical Centre, Tianjin 300000, China
Author contributions: Man Y was a major contributor in writing the manuscript; Li BS, Zhang X and Huang H analyzed and interpreted the patient data; Wang YL designed the study.
Informed consent statement: Informed written consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this report.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflicts 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).
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (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/
Corresponding author: Yin-Long Wang, MD, PhD, Doctor, Professor, Department of Hernia Surgery, Tianjin Union Medical Centre, No. 190 Jieyuan Road, Hongqiao District, Tianjin 300000, China. herni616@126.com
Received: December 24, 2020
Peer-review started: December 24, 2020
First decision: January 10, 2021
Revised: January 22, 2021
Accepted: March 19, 2021
Article in press: March 19, 2021
Published online: May 26, 2021
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Compared with open mesh repair, transabdominal preperitoneal (TAPP) hernioplasty results in less chronic postoperative inguinal pain and faster postoperative recovery. However, it may still lead to rare but serious complications. Here we report a case of intestinal volvulus with recurrent abdominal pain as the only clinical symptom, which occurred 3 mo after TAPP repair for bilateral inguinal hernia.

CASE SUMMARY

A 50-year-old male patient underwent laparoscopic TAPP for bilateral inguinal hernias. After the operation, he experienced recurring pain in his lower right abdomen around the surgical area, which was relieved after symptomatic treatment. Three months after the surgery, the abdominal pain became severe and was aggravated over time. The whirlpool sign of the mesentery was seen on contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT). Laparoscopic exploration confirmed that a barb of the V-Loc™ suture penetrated the peritoneum, which caused the adhesion of the small intestinal wall to the site of peritoneal injury, forming intestinal volvulus. Since there was no closed-loop obstruction or intestinal ischemia, recurrent abdominal pain became the only clinical manifestation in this case. After laparoscopic lysis of adhesions and reduction of intestinal volvulus, the patient recovered and was discharged.

CONCLUSION

The possibility of intestinal volvulus should be considered in patients who experience recurrent abdominal pain following TAPP surgery during which barbed V-Loc sutures are used for closing the peritoneum. Contrast-enhanced CT and active laparoscopic exploration can confirm the diagnosis and prevent serious complications.

Keywords: Laparoscopy, Inguinal hernia, Transabdominal preperitoneal hernioplasty, Volvulus, Intestinal, Complication, Case report

Core Tip: This case provides surgeons guidelines for the management of small bowel volvulus with only recurrent abdominal pain as a clinical manifestation after transabdominal preperitoneal (TAPP) hernioplasty. It highlights that the possibility of intestinal volvulus should be considered in patients who experience unexplained abdominal pain following TAPP surgery during which barbed V-LocTM sutures are used for closing the peritoneum. Additionally, contrast-enhanced computed tomography and active laparoscopic exploration can helpful with confirm the diagnosis and prevent more serious complications.