부산대학교 도서관

A 87-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital because of sudden abdominal pain and vomiting. The patient complained of right lower abdominal pain and tenderness. On physical examination, an a elastic hard mass of 5 cm in diameter was palpable in the right lower quadrant. Abdominal computed tomography (CT) imaging showed that a medially-deviated ascending colon had been encapsulated by the thickened wall of the intestine. An emergency operation was performed under the diagnosis of an internal hernia. A laparotomy revealed that a 10 cm portion of the ileum, 160cm orally from Bauhin's valve, had become incarcerated into the retrocecal cavity. Reduction of the incarcerated loop was followed by obliteration of the hernia orifice. Retrocecal hernia is a rare type of internal hernia and correct preoperative diagnosis is difficult to make. We suggest that the CT finding helped to make a correct diagnosis.