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A 52-year-old woman, para 2, presented with pain in her lower abdomen and a bleeding vaginal swelling. The night before she had fallen on her buttocks at a dancing party. The medical history listed a vaginal hysterectomy with anterior and posterior repair. On physical examination a mildly bleeding, red lobulated tumour protruded through the vaginal orifice. On closer inspection appendices epiploicae were seen to be bulging through a 3 cm wide, but narrow rupture in the vaginal vault. The patient denied having had sexual activity or any specific trauma. As some appendices epiploicae showed signs of necrosis, repositioning and repair was performed by laparotomy. Evisceration through a vaginal wall defect is a very rare, but potentially life threatening situation. Predisposing factors are postmenopausal status, a history of uterus extirpation and vaginal prolapse. In premenopausal women it is most often associated with coitus or trauma. The vaginal wall defect can be closed from a vaginal approach but if there is any doubt about the viability ofthe viscera, a laparotomy should be carried out.

A 27-year-old healthy woman suffered from dyspnoea and retrosternal pain after a spontaneous vaginal delivery due to a pneumomediastinum and subcutaneous emphysema caused by labour.