Obstructive rectal endometriosis treated by robot-assisted laparoscopic surgery: a case report

• Published in: Surgical case reports Vol. 6; no. 1; p. 211
• Main Authors: Kuriyama, Naotaka, Ando, Koji, Hu, Qingjiang, Miyashita, Yu, Fujimoto, Yoshiaki, Jogo, Tomoko, Hokonohara, Kentaro, Nakanishi, Ryota, Hisamatsu, Yuichi, Kimura, Yasue, Tsurumaru, Daisuke, Kohashi, Kenichi, Oda, Yoshinao, Oki, Eiji, Nishimura, Masataka, Mori, Masaki
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 14.08.2020; Springer Nature B.V; SpringerOpen
• Subjects: Case Report; Case reports; Endometriosis; Laparoscopy; Low anterior resection; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Rare diseases; Rectal endometriosis; Rectal stenosis; Robot-assisted surgery; Robotic surgery; Robots; Surgery; Low anterior resection; Rectal endometriosis; Rectal stenosis; Robot-assisted surgery
• ISSN: 2198-7793; 2198-7793
• DOI: 10.1186/s40792-020-00977-9

Background Rectal endometriosis is a rare disease. A definitive diagnosis prior to surgery is often difficult. We encountered a patient with rectal sub-obstructive endometriosis that was treated by robot-assisted laparoscopic low anterior resection. Case presentation A 43-year-old woman visited our hospital with suspected stenosis caused by upper rectal cancer. She had a 2-year history of constipation. We were unable to confirm the diagnosis through detailed examinations, including laparoscopy. Robot-assisted laparoscopic low anterior resection with D3 lymph node dissection was performed for both diagnosis and treatment. The postoperative specimen showed a submucosal tumor. The pathological examination confirmed rectal endometriosis. Conclusions We herein describe a rare case of obstructive rectal endometriosis that we were unable to diagnose preoperatively. Robotic surgery was useful in this case, which involved extensive pelvic adhesion.