Three Cases of Acute Abdomen during Pregnancy Treated by Laparoscopic Surgery

Abstract

The most common non-obstetrical surgical emergencies complicating pregnancy are acute appendicitis, cholecystitis, and intestinal obstruction. With a recent technological development of operations using laparoscopy, the number of case reports of laparoscopic surgery during pregnancy has increased. We experienced three cases of laparoscopic surgeries for acute abdomen during pregnancy. Case 1 : A 34-year-old pregnant woman presented with right lower abdominal pain at 15 weeks of gestation. Strangulated intestinal obstruction was diagnosed with CT findings, and we performed laparoscopic intestinal adhesiotomy. Case 2 : A 38-year-old pregnant woman presented with right lower abdominal pain at 21 weeks of gestation. Acute appendicitis was diagnosed with ultrasound and MRI findings, and we performed laparoscopic appendectomy. Case 3 : A 23-year-old pregnant woman presented with epigastralgia at 25 weeks of gestation. Acute cholecystitis was diagnosed with ultrasound and MRI findings, and we performed laparoscopic cholecystectomy at 26 weeks of gestation. We report these three cases for a discussion in terms of diagnostic methods and surgical techniques including placement of port and choice of camera.