Undiagnosed intra-operative intra-abdominal hemorrhage during an abdominoplasty: a case study.

A case study is presented of a 40-year-old female who underwent an elective abdominoplasty with the administration of general endotracheal anesthesia. The intraoperative course was complicated by an unsuspected, undiagnosed bleed from a branching artery at the bifurcation of the abdominal aorta, first retroperitoneally, then into the peritoneal cavity. The peritoneal hemorrhage was unrelated to the surgical procedure, because the abdominal cavity was not entered during the elective procedure.