An ovarian torsion in a 2-year-old girl: a case report

Abdominal pain is one of the most common complaints by patients in the emergency department. Diarrhea, constipation, and urinary tract infection are the commonest etiologies among these patients, but there are surgical emergencies, such as appendicitis and volvulus of the intestine, which are less common. Torsion of the ovary is rarer than all of the above conditions. Ovarian torsion occurs following the twisting of the ovary on its ligamentous attachment, possibly with a cyst, leading to the impediment of blood flow. Prompt diagnosis with a high clinical suspicion is essential to salvage the ovaries and to prevent complications, including death.

Here, we present a case of ovarian torsion in a 2-year-old Sri Lankan girl who presented with nonspecific abdominal symptoms after being symptomatically treated twice by her general practitioners for 3 days. Following biochemical and radiological investigations, she was diagnosed with a twisted necrotic ovarian torsion and underwent laparoscopic right-sided oophorectomy.

Finding the etiology of a child with abdominal pain is challenging, especially because of the limited history, examination findings, the difficulty in carrying out radiological investigations, and the poor specificity of the results compared with adults. This is a case presentation and a brief discussion about the dilemmas and difficulties in the diagnosis and treatment of ovarian torsion in young children.