title: Diagnostic laparoscopy in a twelve year old girl with right iliac fossa pain: A life changing diagnosis of complete androgen insensitivity syndrome.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Right iliac fossa (RIF) pain is one of the most common presenting complaints faced by general surgeons in the emergency department. Correct diagnosis and appropriate surgical intervention can often pose a challenge.
  
  
  METHODS
  A 12-year-old girl presented to the emergency department with a four day history of initially central acute abdominal pain, now localised in the RIF. During laparoscopy, the following findings were made: macroscopically dilated appendix, right and left gonads at the internal opening of the inguinal canal, empty pelvis with a rudimentary uterus on the right side. No evidence of fallopian tubes or connection of uterus to the vagina and broad based, non-inflamed Meckel's diverticulum. An incidental diagnosis of complete androgen insensitivity syndrome was made.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Androgen insensitivity syndrome (AIS) is a disorder of hormone resistance characterised by a female phenotype in an individual with an XY karyotype and testes producing age-appropriate normal concentrations of androgens.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This case report highlights the advantage of laparoscopy as a diagnostic and treatment tool in a twelve year old girl with multiple intra-abdominal findings. While the ultimate diagnosis responsible for her symptom of RIF pain was acute appendicitis, the additional diagnosis of CAIS and incidental Meckel's would have otherwise likely gone undetected.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda, County Louth, Ireland. Electronic address: b_meshkat@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Babak
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Meshkat
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda, County Louth, Ireland.
authors.forename: Melania
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Matcovici
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda, County Louth, Ireland.
authors.forename: Claire
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Buckley
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda, County Louth, Ireland.
authors.forename: Muhammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Salama
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda, County Louth, Ireland.
authors.forename: Haresh K
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Perthiani
keywords: Complete androgen insensitivity syndrome; Laparoscopy; Right iliac fossa pain