What about a strangulated broad ligament hernia? Case experience.

Little known, herniation of the broad ligament of the uterus is a rare entity of internal hernias which poses a real diagnostic dilemma for clinicians. These clinical and radiological findings are often nonspecific and the entity is generally discovered incidentally intraoperatively during urgent surgery for occlusive syndrome. Although such a scenario is not a usual condition, a high index of suspicion is required in time to avoid progression to intestinal ischemia. Until a few years ago, conventional surgery was the approach systematically used in the therapeutic management of the pathology. With advances in minimally invasive techniques, more and more clinical reports have attested to the value of laparoscopy in the diagnostic and therapeutic adequacy of the condition. However, the experience remains remarkable and the literature reported is rare to date. To this end, we present the case of a patient diagnosed with acute intestinal obstruction without radiological confirmation of the etiological conjecture. Emergency laparoscopy finally revealed the incarceration of the small intestine through a herniation of the broad ligament and also allowed therapeutic success. This report aims to highlight the diagnostic difficulties of the pathology and the potential advantages of its laparoscopic management.