Tension-free vaginal tape bowel perforation

Abstract

A 73-year-old para 3 white female with posthysterectomy pelvic organ prolapse and stress urinary incontinence underwent pelvic reconstructive surgery and placement of tension-free vaginal tape. On postoperative day 4, she underwent exploratory laparotomy for small bowel obstruction. She was found to have an injury to the small bowel secondary to a through-and-through perforation by tension-free vaginal tape. The entire tape was removed. Partial small bowel resection and primary anastomosis were performed. Her subsequent recovery was uneventful.