Laparoscopy in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy for abdominal surgical emergencies

To assess complications and outcomes of pregnancies following laparoscopic abdominal surgery during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy.

Retrospective single-center study of 23 cases of laparoscopic surgery in the second or third trimesters of pregnancy between January 2005 and May 2016.

The laparoscopies were performed between 15 and 33 weeks of gestation, a mean of 23 weeks+2 days, with 6 cases in the 3rd trimester. The operations were: 11 cholecystectomies, 6 appendectomies, 1 intestinal occlusion (volvulus on a gastric band), 3 adnexal torsions, 1 ovarian cyst and 1 paratubal cyst with torsion. No secondary laparotomy was required. The postoperative courses were favorable in most cases. However, 3 appendectomies were complicated, one by chorioamnionitis and miscarriage at 20½ weeks of gestation and 2 by right iliac fossa abscesses requiring percutaneous radiological drainage, one of these women delivered a healthy term baby and the other had chorioamnionitis and preterm delivery at 34 weeks, followed by neonatal death.

Laparoscopy can be safely performed for surgical indications in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy. In case of abdominal symptoms, a timely diagnosis is required to decide whether or not to operate and imaging should not be withheld particularly in case of suspected appendicitis which has a high risk of complications.