Strangulated Intestinal Obstruction due to Appendiceal Tourniquet: A Case Report

Intestinal obstruction is a common surgical emergency. It has many causes, which may be either benign or malignant. However, appendicitis is not a common cause of intestinal obstruction, hence the challenge in making a diagnosis. Radiological and clinical diagnoses of this could be difficult; hence, diagnosis is mostly intraoperative. This case study involved a 54-year-old male, who presented at Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital with features of acute intestinal obstruction for 5 days. During surgery, a gangrene of a loop of the bowel was found with an inflamed and partly gangrenous appendix, forming a tourniquet around the loop of the bowel. Appendicectomy and resection of the gangrenous bowel were performed. The postoperative period was uneventful. The patient was discharged on postoperative day 12. We publish this case report to add to the existing literature. In addition, no such case has been reported in the subregion. Appendicitis is not common in the age group in our case study, which makes it different from other cases presented in literature.