[Rupture of the vaginal vault with prolapse of the small intestine]

Over a period of 33 years during which nearly 13,600 hysterectomies were carried out, there was one case of prolapse of the small bowel through the ruptured vaginal vault stump, which occurred spontaneously 7 months after vaginal hysterectomy and colporrhaphy. At operation the small bowel was returned into position and an ovarian cyst was removed by the vaginal route. The patient made an uneventful recovery.