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Published in: Journal of Medical Case Reports 1/2012

Open Access 01-12-2012 | Case report

Hematometra presenting as an acute abdomen in a 13-year-old postmenarchal girl: a case report

Authors: Peter Klimek, Miriam Klimek, Ulf Kessler, Valerie Oesch, Rainer Wolf, Enno Stranzinger, Michael D Mueller, Zacharias Zachariou

Published in: Journal of Medical Case Reports | Issue 1/2012

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Abstract

Introduction

Most underlying diseases for abdominal pain in children are not dangerous. However some require rapid diagnosis and treatment, such as acute ovarian torsion or appendicitis. Since reaching a diagnosis can be difficult, and delayed treatment of potentially dangerous diseases might have significant consequences, exploratory laparoscopy is a diagnostic and therapeutic option for patients who have unclear and potentially hazardous abdominal diseases. Here we describe a case where the anomaly could not be identified using a laparoscopy in an adolescent girl with acute abdomen.

Case presentation

A 13-year old postmenarchal caucasian female presented with an acute abdomen. Emergency sonography could not exclude ovarian torsion. Accurate diagnosis and treatment were achieved only after an initial laparoscopy followed by a laparotomy and after a magnetic resonance imaging scan a further laparotomy. The underlying disease was hematometra of the right uterine horn in a uterus didelphys in conjunction with an imperforate right cervix.

Conclusion

This report demonstrates that the usual approach for patients with acute abdominal pain may not be sufficient in emergency situations.
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Metadata
Title
Hematometra presenting as an acute abdomen in a 13-year-old postmenarchal girl: a case report
Authors
Peter Klimek
Miriam Klimek
Ulf Kessler
Valerie Oesch
Rainer Wolf
Enno Stranzinger
Michael D Mueller
Zacharias Zachariou
Publication date
01-12-2012
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
Journal of Medical Case Reports / Issue 1/2012
Electronic ISSN: 1752-1947
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/1752-1947-6-419

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