Gastric Injury at Laparoscopy for Gynecologic Indications: A Systematic Review

This systematic review aims to identify causes of increased risk for and location and mechanism of gastric injury at laparoscopy for gynecologic indications and determine optimal management.

A prospectively registered systematic review (PROSPERO: CRD42021237999) was undertaken and performed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Databases searched included Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Medline, Embase, Web of Science, SCOPUS, and Google Scholar from 1960 to 2021.

All study types were included involving female patients of any age with gastric injury at laparoscopy for gynecologic indication.

A total of 6294 articles were screened, from which 67 studies were selected for a full-text review. Twenty-eight articles were included, which contained 42 cases drawn from 7 observational studies, 4 case series, and 17 case reports. Of these, 93% (39/42) were at the time of laparoscopic entry, with Veress entry technique used in 79% of these cases (31/39). Eighteen cases reported an entry point, with 77% (14/18) occurring at the periumbilical entry point and 11% (2/18) occurring at Palmer's point. Of the cases with reported etiology for gastric distention or displacement, 64% (9/14) were owing to anesthetic cause. The most common sites of gastric injury were on the anterior stomach wall (n = 8) and the greater curvature (n = 5). Among patients with reported management (32/42), a similar proportion were managed conservatively (11) when compared with repair through laparotomy (13) or laparoscopy (8). All injuries were detected intraoperatively with no reported short-term sequelae.

This systematic review of the literature reveals that gastric injury at laparoscopy for gynecologic indications is a rare complication predominantly occurring during laparoscopic entry, most commonly at the periumbilical entry point. When detected intraoperatively, conservative management, laparoscopic, or open repair in the appropriate patient has been performed with no short-term sequelae. The limitations of this review include paucity of cases, detail, and timeline of publications.