Case report
Laparoscopic injury of the obturator nerve during fertility-sparing procedure for cervical cancer
1 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Sapienza University of Rome. Sant’Andrea Hospital, via di Grottarossa, 1035-1039, Rome, 00189, Italy
2 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology University Medical Center, Ljubljana, Slovenia
World Journal of Surgical Oncology 2012, 10:177 doi:10.1186/1477-7819-10-177
Published: 30 August 2012Abstract
Background
Intraoperative injury of the obturator nerve has rarely been reported in patients with gynecological malignancies undergoing extensive radical surgeries. Irreversible damage of this nerve causes thigh paresthesia and claudication. Intraoperative repair may be done by end-to-end anastomosis or grafting when achieving tension-free anastomosis is not possible.
Case presentation
A 28-year-old woman with stage IB cervical cancer underwent fertility–sparing surgery, including conization and bilateral pelvic lymphadenectomy. The left obturator nerve was damaged intraoperatively during pelvic dissection.
Conclusion
Immediate laparoscopic repair was successful and there was no functional deficit in the left thigh for six months postoperatively.
