Bladder injury during diagnostic laparoscopy. A case report.

We report the case of a bladder injury that was incurred during diagnostic laparoscopy in a 19-year-old man with hepatomegaly, neuropsychiatric disturbances, and urinary retention whose final diagnosis was Wilson's disease. In order to define the nature of his hepatomegaly, the patient underwent laparoscopy. However, the lack of recognition of urinary retention by the operator and the absence of cooperation by the patient caused bladder injury during the insertion of the Veress needle, resulting in the leakage of a yellow fluid consistent with urine. Since the injury was small, it was managed with antibiotics and bladder drainage, alone and deemed not to require surgical repair. We also discuss potential risk factors and describe some approaches that can help to avoid this laparoscopic complication.