Clinical characteristics and management of Petersen hernia after gastrectomy in patients with gastric cancer

Objective: Petersen hernia is a rare but severe complication after gastrectomy, which has been reported by very few studies. This study is dedicated to summarize the clinical characteristics and management of Petersen hernia after gastrectomy in patients with gastric cancer in order to provide reference to clinical practice. Methods: A descriptive case-control study was carried out. All the qualified patients were screened from the database of digestive malignancies in Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital. The inclusion criteria were as follows: Petersen hernia confirmed during operation; previous gastrectomy history due to gastric cancer; complete clinical data. The clinical manifestation, perioperative data and follow-up outcome were summarized. Results: A total of 12 qualified patients were included. They were all male with a mean age of (65.3±8.5) years old, and whose clinical presentation had last for (6~143) hours (median: 21 hours). Common complaints included abdominal pain and bloating. All the patients were admitted to the emergency department. Preoperative CT showed dilatation and effusion of small intestine. Other imaging manifestations included whirlpool sign, target sign, mesenteric retraction or congestion and edema, abdominal and pelvic effusion, etc. Hematological examination showed white blood cell count, ratio of neutrophils, procalcitonin and C-reactive protein were higher than the normal range. The median interval to previous gastrectomy is 20.5 (0.5-55.0) months. The previous gastrectomy of 12 cases included 2 cases of laparoscopic surgery and 10 of laparotomies. Ten cases underwent emergency surgery immediately, and 2 cases underwent surgery after ineffective conservative treatment. Six cases received small bowel restoration without bowel resection, and the other 6 cases received small bowel resection with a mean length of 76 (11~300) cm. Six cases were transferred into ICU with a stay of (2.5±0.8) days. One case deceased at postoperative day 2, due to subtotal small bowel resection, and the other 11 cases survived without grade III or above complication according to Clavien-Dindo classification. The overall postoperative hospitalization was (9.2±3.6) days. During the postoperative follow-up, no acute gastrointestinal symptoms or acute abdomen recurred. Conclusions: Petersen hernia is more common in male, whose onset and progress are rapid and emergent, and prognosis is poor.