Small bowel obstruction following diagnostic laparoscopy

The occurrence of an incarcerated small bowel hernia through a subumbilical laparoscopic incision site is a rare event. The obstruction occurred 7 weeks after laparoscopy and 1 week after bilateral tuboplasty through a Pfannenstiel incision. Following laparoscopy, the possibility of a bowel obstruction should be entertained in any patient presenting with signs consistent with this diagnosis regardless of the intervening period of time.