Omental torsion presenting as acute abdominal pain, pre-operative diagnosis: A case report

Abstract

Omental torsion is a rare cause of acute abdominal pain that is not commonly diagnosed pre-operatively. The increased use of imaging such as computerized tomography in evaluating patients presenting with acute abdominal pain allowed the pre-operative diagnosis of omental torsion to be made much more often. Here we present a case of 18-year-old male who visited our emergency department complaining of right lower abdominal pain for several days. After proper evaluation by clinical examination and imaging, namely CT scan, provisional diagnosis was omental torsion. Differential diagnosis was acute appendicitis. The patient was admitted to the surgical ward. Surgery was performed through a Gridiron incision. Omental torsion with necrosis was found. Diseased omentum was excised and appendectomy performed.

Omental torsion; an unusual case of acute abdomen. Case report

“…The main argument against conservative treatment is the failure to identify an inflammatory condition in the appendix, which could expose the patient to complications such as peritonitis and intra-abdominal abscess formation. Therefore, it has been proposed that in the face of an unclear diagnosis or when conservative treatment fails, laparoscopy should be performed [3] , [4] , [8] , [11] , [14] .…”