A case of ileal endometriosis causing intestinal obstruction

Abstract

A 38-year-old woman with a history of endometriosis visited our hospital with (complaints of) abdominal pain and vomiting. She was then admitted with a diagnosis of intestinal obstruction in the ileocecal region based on abdominal contrast-enhanced computed tomography findings, she was subsequently treated with an ileus tube. Colonoscopy showed edema and erythema, with severe stenosis such that the colonoscope couldn't pass through the terminal ileum, as well as erythematous mucosa in the sigmoid colon. Biopsies of the same area revealed nonspecific colitis. Ileus angiography showed disruption of the contrast-enhanced image beyond the terminal ileum. Suspecting intestinal endometriosis, and after consulting both the Department of Surgery and the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, we performed laparoscopic ileocecal resection, left adnexectomy, and right salpingectomy. The pathological findings of the surgical specimens suggested endometriosis. We herein report a case of ileal endometriosis, an infrequent cause of intestinal obstruction.