Internal hernia through a defect of the broad ligament: a case report

ABSTRACT

A small bowel obstruction due to an internal hernia through a defect of the broad ligament (called a broad ligament hernia) is rare and accounts for 4-7% of all internal hernias. A 42-year-old woman visited the emergency department of Wonkwang University Hospital with epigastric pain that had lasted for one day. Computed tomography (CT) revealed a closed loop of the small bowel with multiple beak signs at the lower pelvic area, near the uterus and left adnexa. The surgical findings revealed a dilatated small bowel and hernia through a 2×2-cm-sized defect of the left broad ligament. This paper reports a rare case of a broad ligament hernia that was treated successfully via the laparoscopic approach and discusses the characteristics of this disease with reference to the literature.