Strangulated internal hernia due to defect in broad ligament: a case report

Small bowel obstruction is a relatively common disease process accounting for up to 16 percent of surgical admissions and more than 300,000 operations annually in the United States. Approximately 5-8 percent of small bowel obstructions can be attributed to internal hernias. A slightly lower percentage, roughly 4-7 percent, of these internal hernias are noted to originate from a defect in the broad ligament of the uterus. A majority of broad ligaments defects causing a small bowel obstruction are not diagnosed preoperatively due to the equivocal imaging findings as well as the infrequency of this etiology. To date, there are very few case reports describing this disease process. This case report describes a 70-year-old female who was found to have a defect in her broad ligament causing a small bowel obstruction leading to subsequent strangulated bowel.