Hazebroek Eric J, Boonstra Onno, van der Harst Erwin
Medical Centre Rijnmond Zuid, Department of Surgery, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
J Minim Invasive Gynecol. 2008 Jan-Feb;15(1):97-8. doi: 10.1016/j.jmig.2007.06.009.
A 25-year-old woman had signs of an acute surgical abdomen. Differential diagnoses were ectopic pregnancy and acute appendicitis. Diagnostic laparoscopy revealed an apparent inflamed appendix and left-sided unruptured tubal ectopic pregnancy. This case illustrates the importance of considering multiple pathologic disorders in a patient with an acute surgical abdomen, especially in pregnancy. Furthermore, it shows that laparoscopy constitutes the optimal treatment modality in patients with multiple diagnoses, because it combines multifocal diagnosis and treatment without additional postoperative morbidity.