A surprising incident occurred in a Florida diner when a man, who had recently undergone abdominal surgery, sneezed out parts of his large intestine while having breakfast with his wife. This rare complication of abdominal surgery, known as evisceration, is detailed in a report published in the American Journal of Medical Case Reports.
The 63-year-old man had recently undergone cystectomy surgery, which involves the removal of his bladder, and his incision site was sealed with surgical staples. Prior to the incident, he had visited his urology clinic for a check-up, where the staples were removed. Feeling well-healed, he and his wife decided to celebrate with breakfast.
However, during breakfast, the man experienced a forceful sneeze followed by a coughing fit, causing the incision site to rupture. He immediately felt pain and noticed several loops of pink bowel protruding from the surgical site. Concerned for his well-being, his wife called for an ambulance instead of him driving himself to the hospital.
Upon arrival, paramedics discovered that a 3-inch section of his incision had ruptured, with a significant amount of bowel protruding. Although there was initial consideration to manually push the intestines back in, the paramedic decided against it to avoid causing further injury. Instead, she kept the exposed bowel moist with a saline-soaked pad and wrapped the man in gauze to keep it close to his body.
The man was then admitted to the hospital, where his vital signs were stable and no further evidence of injury was found during surgery. His intestine was carefully placed back inside his body, and the wound was re-sealed using various sutures. After six days of recovery, he was discharged from the hospital following a reassuring abdominal examination.
The tearing of the surgical site, known as wound dehiscence, is a well-known complication. It occurs when the previously approximated wound edges partially or completely separate due to a failure of proper wound healing. However, evisceration through the abdominal surgical site after a cystectomy is poorly documented, with only seven known cases reported.
