A man who had recently undergone abdominal surgery experienced a rare complication known as evisceration while having breakfast with his wife at a Florida diner.
Evisceration, which involves the protrusion of internal organs through a surgical site, was reported in a case study published in the “American Journal of Medical Case Reports.”
The 63-year-old man had recently undergone a cystectomy, a surgical procedure involving the bladder, with the incision site secured by surgical staples.
On the morning of the incident, he had visited his urology clinic for a follow-up appointment. The report notes that his wound appeared well-healed at that time, and the overlying staples were removed. To celebrate, he and his wife went out for breakfast.
During the meal, he sneezed forcefully and then experienced a coughing fit, which led to the rupture of his surgical site.
The report describes his immediate reaction: “He noticed a ‘wet’ sensation and pain in his lower abdomen. Looking down, he observed several loops of pink bowel protruding from his recent surgical site.”
Although the man considered driving himself to the hospital, he was concerned about further injury and his wife called for an ambulance instead.
Paramedics arrived to find a 3-inch section of his incision ruptured, with a significant amount of bowel protruding from it.
Initially, the paramedic considered manually pushing the intestines back in but was apprehensive about causing additional injury.
Instead, she kept the exposed bowel moist with a saline-soaked pad and wrapped it in gauze to keep it close to his body.
He was transported to the hospital, where his vital signs were normal. During the surgical repair, no additional injuries to his bowel were noted.
The intestines were placed back inside his body, and the wound was re-sealed with various sutures.
Six days after the incident, the man was discharged from the hospital following a “reassuring abdominal examination.”
The case report indicated that the man experienced tearing of his surgical site, a complication known as wound dehiscence.
This condition, as explained by the National Library of Medicine, involves “a partial or total separation of previously approximated wound edges due to a failure of proper wound healing.”
However, evisceration through an abdominal surgical site after a cystectomy is less commonly documented, with only seven known cases reported.
