Postoperative small bowel obstruction associated with use of hemostatic agents

A case of early postoperative small bowel obstruction (SBO) after intraoperative use of hemostatic agents during laparoscopic staging for endometrial cancer is reported. A 46-year-old woman underwent a laparoscopic staging procedure for endometrial cancer during which hemostatic agents were used in the management of an iatrogenic injury to the inferior vena cava. The patient returned on postoperative day 6 with SBO and was taken to the operating department. She required a small bowel resection in the specific area where the hemostatic agents were used. Pathology showed extensive fibrotic changes caused by a foreign material that was suggestive of a thrombin-related product. Use of hemostatic agents should be considered as a cause in the differential diagnosis of patients with early postoperative SBO.