A Case of Strangulated Bowel Obstruction Caused by Barbed Suture Following Laparoscopic Sacrocolpopexy

A 63-year-old woman underwent laparoscopic sacrocolpopexy for pelvic organ prolapse. Four days postoperatively, she underwent an abdominal computed tomography scan because she developed a stomachache, and a strangulated bowel obstruction was suspected. The patient then underwent an emergency laparotomy which revealed strangulation of the small intestine caused by a band formed between the stump of a barbed suture and the mesentery. The strangulation was released by resecting the stump, and intestinal resection was not necessary. Nine days following the re-intervention, the patient was discharged from our hospital. As of four months after the surgery, she has not experienced any recurrence of pelvic organ prolapse or other postoperative complications. We need some ingenuity when using barbed suture in situations where the thread and the intestine come into contact.