[A Case of Immediately-Treated Internal Hernia Occurring during Chemotherapy for Liver Metastasis after Gastric GIST Resection].

ABSTRACT

A 71-year-old man underwent total gastrectomy with Roux-en-Y reconstruction for gastric GIST in October 2017. Liver metastasis was identified in June 2019, and chemotherapy with imatinib was started in July. In December, the patient presented with acute upper abdominal pain and back pain. Abdominal contrast-enhanced CT showed that the jejunum extending from the duodenal stump was dilated. In addition, part of the jejunum had a poor wall contrast effect, with ascites also found surrounding it. We suspected a strangulated ileus and immediately performed emergency surgery. We found an internal hernia with incarceration of the afferent loop at the Petersen's defect. The time from the onset of symptoms to the surgery was relatively short, and the surgery was completed with hernial repair and closure of the hernial orifice without the development of bowel necrosis; the patient's postoperative course was good. Although the frequency of internal hernia after gastrectomy is relatively low, there is a risk that it may be severe if it occurs. Therefore, care should be taken to not cause internal hernias during surgery, and an internal hernia should be considered in the event of sudden abdominal pain after gastric surgery.