A 62-year-old obese female presented with spontaneous rupture of incisional hernia for 4 hours duration. She had a history of curative total abdominal hysterectomy and bilateral oophorectomy for stage 1 endometrial adenocarcinoma 3 years ago. She was also treated with adjuvant chemoradiation. Subsequently, she developed a surgical site infection and with breakdown of skin and subcutaneous tissues and was treated with repeated wound debridement and secondary suturing. She did not have diabetes mellitus or other long-standing medical comorbidities. She had noticed a bulge in the lower abdomen which was progressively enlarging in size over a period of 7 months and did not seek treatment.\nOn admission, she did not have fever or features of intestinal obstruction. She was haemodynamically stable. Her abdomen was pendulous with a large incisional hernia over the Pfannenstiel incision. A loop of grossly congested and oedematous small bowel was seen eviscerating through a small defect in the skin suggestive of early strangulation ().\nHer blood investigations including full blood count, serum electrolytes, renal functions, and clotting profile were normal. She was resuscitated and planned for emergency surgery.\nAs the first step during surgery, the strangulation was released by enlarging the skin defect which was 3 cm in diameter (). Fortunately, the bowel was viable without any evidence of gangrene. Thereafter, an elliptical incision was made over the incisional hernia incorporating the defect. A large (10 cm in diameter) abdominal wall defect was identified with extensive adhesions. Careful adhesiolysis was performed and the bowel was reduced into the peritoneal cavity. The defect was closed and an on lay mesh repair was performed. She had an uneventful recovery and was discharged on the 5th postoperative day. At one month following surgery, she had complete wound healing and was able to perform her normal day-to-day activities.
We present the case of an 81-year-old woman without interesting medical precedents excepting a moderated cognitive deterioration (with partial dependence for activities of daily living). She was taken to the hospital by her relatives after they found her in the bathroom presenting with intestinal loops exiting through her anus. The presence of a rectal prolapse was not among her precedents ().\nOn the first exploration, we recognized an abdominal excavation, which was painless on palpation, and we observed many small intestine loops with a congestive aspect exiting through the anus. When the patient arrived, she was hypotensive and tachycardic. After the first resuscitation attempt, an urgent blood test was requested, and the results showed albumin, 3; C-reactive protein, 47.3 mg/dL; and 19,700 leukocytes with neutrophilia, indicating an urgent need for surgery. The patient was taken to the operating room less than two hours after the beginning of the symptoms, and during the surgery, her hemodynamic condition remained the same.\nFor the surgery, the patient was placed in a modified lithotomy position, and two areas (abdominal and perineal) were prepared. After checking the difficulty of reducing the intestine exclusively through the anus, we performed an exploratory laparotomy, which revealed the absence of small intestine loops in the cavity; these had been moved to the pelvis and this was causing an important traction of the mesentery root. As a result, a manual reduction of the loops to the cavity through intraperitoneal traction was done; this was controlled from the perineal field. After the reduction had been completed, a 3 to 4 cm lineal craniocaudal perforation in the antimesenteric portion of the upper rectum was objectified (RIS II/AAC III). An important flaccidity of the entire pelvic musculature which contained a large rectovaginal pouch was observed, which resulted in both the superior rectum and the peritoneal reflection leaning on the pelvic floor (). The peritoneal cavity was abundantly washed with hot saline, and after some minutes, the loops initiated a visible peristalsis and took on a normal coloration. Later, the superior rectum and the sigmoid colon were dissected until the promontory, and an anterior resection of the rectum and a terminal colostomy in the left iliac region (Hartmann's procedure) were performed ().\nLater, the patient's relatives told us that she had difficulties defecating and had frequently manipulate herself to extract her feces. The patient was admitted to the intensive care unit for 3 days where she remained hemodynamically stable and her ventilatory support was ceased without incidence. She had a slow recovery, and on the 6th day tolerated oral intake well. She was discharged after 13 days, and two months later remained asymptomatic.