A man was having breakfast with his wife when he coughed and sneezed at the same time, causing a strange injury.
The Florida native’s colon exploded, causing his intestines to fall out of his body.
The 63-year-old man noticed a “wet” sensation followed by sharp pain. When he lifted his shirt he saw that several centimeters of intestine protruded from the surgical wound.
He had recently undergone abdominal surgery, but doctors insisted that same day that the incision be closed. he was “well cured.”
His wife called an ambulance and upon arrival, paramedics said they observed a three-inch opening with “large amounts of intestine” protruding through it.
Florida man’s colon exploded after coughing and sneezing at the same time (file image)
He was immediately taken to the hospital, where surgeons were able to successfully return his intestine to his abdomen.
After recovering in the hospital for six days, the man was sent home and experienced no further complications.
His case is detailed in the American Journal of Medical Case Reports.
This rare but serious complication of surgery is also called disembowelment and occurs when a patient’s internal organs protrude through an incision due to wound dehiscence, the reopening of a surgical site.
TO study Found wound dehiscence (the reopening of a surgical site) is estimated to occur in up to three in 100 people who have had abdominal and pelvic surgeries, but can occur in up to 10 percent of elderly patients.
It can be fatal for four in 10 patients due to excessive blood loss, prolonged severe pain, or injury to exposed organs.
Experts, including those in the case report, cite cough as a major risk factor for the complication, and the report’s authors concluded: “Cough was probably the cause in our case.”
The illustration on the left comes from the patient’s case report and shows how the man’s intestines were protruding through the wound in his abdomen. The illustration on the right shows the man’s incision after doctors repaired his evisceration.
When it occurs, it must be treated with surgery to replace organs in the abdomen and close the open wound.
A sterile saline cover should also be placed over the eviscerations to keep the exposed organs moist until surgery can be performed.
Two weeks before the incident, the Florida man underwent surgery for complications resulting from a previous battle with prostate cancer, including a cystectomy, a surgery in which the bladder is removed.
The surgery was successful and doctors sent the patient home “in good condition.”
On the morning of the medical emergency, the man had the wound site examined and the sutures removed. Then he and his wife went to breakfast to celebrate his good health.
After noticing his internal organs protruding from his abdomen, the man quickly covered the wound with his shirt and headed to the hospital.
However, he decided not to do it for fear that it would aggravate the injury. Then his wife called 911.
The case report says an ambulance arrived four minutes later and while the man’s shirt was soaked with body fluid, paramedics observed minimal bleeding.
Having never faced such an injury, the case report said the paramedic was “unsure of the best treatment” as routine protocols had no guidelines for treating evisceration.
However, she knew the intestines needed to be kept moist, so she covered them with saline and wrapped gauze around the man’s abdomen before taking him to the hospital.
Upon arrival, the patient was rushed to the operating room where three doctors examined the intestine, saw no evidence of injury, and were able to place it back inside his body.
Doctors discovered that the wound had opened in the middle of the incision and closed it with multiple methods, including figure-8 sutures, one of the most advanced and strongest types of closure, internal and external sutures, and stitches that penetrated multiple layers. deep in the abdominal wall.
The patient’s skin was then closed with surgical staples.
Over the next few days, the man recovered without further complications and underwent a “reassuring abdominal examination.”
Doctors deemed him well enough to return home after a week.
Doctors said this case report was “important” because abdominal evisceration after a cystectomy is poorly documented, with only seven reports of the complication in 2024.