RUPTURED BOWEL
You may have the basis of a claim for compensation if you have suffered a ruptured bowel as a result of abdominal surgery or if there has been a delay in diagnosing a ruptured bowel.
What Is A Ruptured Bowel?
A ruptured or perforated bowel is a hole in the stomach, small intestine or large intestine.
The contents of the digestive system will leak into the abdominal cavity through this hole. This leads to inflammation – often referred to as peritonitis.
A ruptured bowel is considered a medical emergency as it can lead to an abdominal abscess, infection, sepsis, internal bleeding and death.Â
Causes of A Ruptured Bowel
The most common causes of a bowel rupture are:-
- a blockage of the intestine;
- trauma to the bowel;
- a surgeon accidentally puncturing the bowel during surgery to any of the organs around the bowels.
- adhesions in the abdomen
After any type of surgery in the abdomen, bands of tissue called adhesions may form between abdominal tissues and organs. Normally, tissues and organs are slippery and move easily as the body moves. If adhesions form they can make tissues and organs “stick” together. Most adhesions don’t cause problems. But sometimes they can cause pain in the abdomen. Rarely, they can cause a part of the bowel to twist or kink, pulling it out of place so that it becomes blocked or ruptures.
The most common part of the bowel to rupture is the small intestine. The next most common area is the stomach followed by the large intestine.
When the bowel is ruptured it allows food or faeces to leak from the bowel into the abdomen or for air to seep into the abdominal cavity. This can lead to severe inflammation and infection of the abdomen which rapidly can spread and become serious or even fatal if not diagnosed and treated.
A ruptured bowel needs to be detected early to ensure that the repair can be made by a surgeon as soon as possible.