Intestinal Obstruction Caused by a Retrocecal Hernia: A Case Report

Abstract

A 57-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with a history of right lower abdominal pain. Abdominal contrast-enhanced CT revealed closed loop obstruction of the small intestine dorsal to the cecum, and emergency laparotomy was performed. Intraoperatively, incarceration of the ileum into the 2cm-orifice of the retrocecal fossa was identified. With the diagnosis of intestinal obstruction caused by retrocecal hernia, the incarcerated ileum was released, without any need to perform intestinal resection. In addition, the orifice was opened widely. The patient was discharged on postoperative day 8 without complications. Retrocecal hernia is a relatively rare entity that frequently requires emergency operation because of strangulated intestinal obstruction. We report a case herein, with a review of the literature.