A young male in his early 30s presented to us with increasing swelling at the umbilicus, and an umbilical hernia was diagnosed. At laparoscopic intraperitoneal onlay mesh (IPOM) repair, an unexpected finding of a thin innocuous-looking fibrous film over the small bowel was noted. This finding presented a dilemma as to the probable pathology of this material, and a decision had to be made on whether laparoscopic IPOM could be continued. It was prudently decided to abandon the plan of placing a mesh intraperitoneally and an open repair of the umbilical hernia was done. In retrospect this was a wise decision, as, after 7 months he had to have a laparotomy for intestinal obstruction, when the classic thick fibrous encapsulating abdominal cocoon was seen. Hence here we have followed the evolution of the abdominal cocoon from its original asymptomatic phase to the classic encapsulating sclerosing peritonitis with probably laparoscopic gas insufflation being the precipitating factor.
Keywords: gastrointestinal surgery; pathology.
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