Intestinal perforation by a foreign body, without identifying a perforation site at laparotomy

Georgios  Velimezis; Dimitrios  Filippou; Georgios  Filippou; Nicolas  Condilis; Antonios  Vezakis; Evangelos  Perrakis; Christianakis  Eftstratios; Spiros  Rizos; Nicolaos  Paschalidis

1 Jan 2009Case Report

Georgios Velimezis ¹Dimitrios Filippou ¹Georgios Filippou ¹Nicolas Condilis ²Antonios Vezakis ¹Evangelos Perrakis ¹Christianakis Eftstratios ¹Spiros Rizos ¹Nicolaos Paschalidis ¹

Affiliations

Article Info

¹ Department of Surgery, Wesern Africa General Hospital, Athens, Greece; First Department of General Surgery, Piraeus General Hospital “Tzaneio”, Piraeus, Athens, Greece

² Department of Familiar Medicine, Peripheral General State Hospital of Nikaia “Saint Panteleimon”, Piraeus, Greece

Abstract

A case is reported of a young man, who was presented with abdominal pain and an infiaminatory abdominal mass resulting from intestinal perforation by a wooden spike. Thorough surgical exploration of the abdominal cavity didn’t reveal the perforation site. An inflammatory mass in small bowel mesentery was excised and the cavity drained. The patient had an uneventful recovery. In cases of intestinal perforation by wooden spikes the site of perforation may not be identified. Healing of the opening after the passage of the spike is the possible mechanism. The outcorne of these patients even without finding the opening is favorable.

Keywords

Foreign body
Inflammatory mass
Intestinal perforation
Wooden spike