Postmenopausal Idiopathic Spontaneous Rupture of Pyometra with Tubo-ovarian Abscess: An Atypical Presentation

Spontaneous perforations in pyometra occur rarely. Incidence is only 0.01%-0.5% in gynecological patients. Tubo-ovarian abscess (TOA) is seen less in postmenopausal women amounting the 6%-18% of the total cases of TOA reported. A 52-year-old P₃L₃ postmenopausal woman with abdominal pain was admitted to hospital. Emergency laparotomy was performed in view of pyoperitoneum. Intraoperatively, 1000 cc of foul-smelling pus was suctioned out from the peritoneal cavity a 2 cm × 2 cm sized perforation was seen at the right fundal region of the uterus and a right sided TOA was seen extending to the uterine cavity, left sided ovary was normal. A total abdominal hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy was performed. The patient got discharged on the 36^th postoperative hospitalization day. Histopathological study revealed uterine purulent inflammation with no evidence of malignancy. The diagnosis of spontaneous perforation of pyometra is rarely made preoperatively and the possibility of a perforated pyometra should, therefore, be considered when elderly women suffer from acute abdominal pain. Hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy may be the best choice procedure in these patients. There is probably a new trend in the epidemiology of TOA, occurring in older women who do not present the traditional risk factors for pelvic inflammatory disease and TOA.