Small bowel obstruction in midtrimester of pregnancy: A case report.

Park, Young Soo; An, So Jung; Lee, Kyung Hee; Chun, Sung Wook; Park, Chan Wook; Park, Joong Shin; Park, Kyu Joo; Jun, Jong Kwan; Syn, Hee Chul

Case Report

Korean Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology 2007;50(12):1752-1756.
Published online December 1, 2007.

Small bowel obstruction in midtrimester of pregnancy: A case report.

Young Soo Park, So Jung An, Kyung Hee Lee, Sung Wook Chun, Chan Wook Park, Joong Shin Park, Kyu Joo Park, Jong Kwan Jun, Hee Chul Syn

¹Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. jsparkmd@snu.ac.kr
²Department of Surgery, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.

Abstract

Small bowel obstruction in pregnancy is a rare critical condition with high morbidity and mortality. The diagnosis of small bowel obstruction in pregnancy is often delayed because the symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain mimic typical pregnancy-associated complaints. So, a high level of suspicion especially in patients with a history of previous abdominal surgery is essential for early diagnosis. Once the diagnosis is made, surgery should be performed immediately. We present the first case of small bowel obstruction during pregnancy in Korea with a brief review of the literature.

Key Words: Bowel obstruction, Pregnancy