A 73-year-old otherwise healthy female presented to the emergency treatment unit with sudden worsening of rectal procidentia (rectal prolapse) and pain for 3 h after straining at defecation. She had a history of reducible complete rectal prolapse for 4 years, for which she did not seek treatment. She had three uncomplicated vaginal deliveries in the past. On examination, she was found to have evisceration of the small bowel through the anus rather than a rectal prolapse, without any macroscopic evidence of strangulation (). There was associated uterovaginal prolapse and perineal descent suggestive of pelvic floor dysfunction. She was hemodynamically stable with normal blood pressure and heart rate. Her biochemical investigations including serum lactate were all normal. Emergency laparotomy was performed and the small bowel was reduced into the abdomen with ease. She was found to have a linear tear, 6 cm from the anal verge on the anterior wall of the middle part of the rectum without any macroscopic evidence of ischemia or neoplasm (). The reduced small bowel was normal in appearance with good peristalsis. Primary repair of the rectal defect was carried out after obtaining a biopsy from the rectal tear and a proximal defunctioning ileostomy was created. Histological examination of the rectal biopsy was unremarkable. She was managed in the intensive care unit for 2 days post-operatively and had an uneventful recovery. The patient was discharged on the fifth post-operative day.
We present the case of an 81-year-old woman without interesting medical precedents excepting a moderated cognitive deterioration (with partial dependence for activities of daily living). She was taken to the hospital by her relatives after they found her in the bathroom presenting with intestinal loops exiting through her anus. The presence of a rectal prolapse was not among her precedents ().\nOn the first exploration, we recognized an abdominal excavation, which was painless on palpation, and we observed many small intestine loops with a congestive aspect exiting through the anus. When the patient arrived, she was hypotensive and tachycardic. After the first resuscitation attempt, an urgent blood test was requested, and the results showed albumin, 3; C-reactive protein, 47.3 mg/dL; and 19,700 leukocytes with neutrophilia, indicating an urgent need for surgery. The patient was taken to the operating room less than two hours after the beginning of the symptoms, and during the surgery, her hemodynamic condition remained the same.\nFor the surgery, the patient was placed in a modified lithotomy position, and two areas (abdominal and perineal) were prepared. After checking the difficulty of reducing the intestine exclusively through the anus, we performed an exploratory laparotomy, which revealed the absence of small intestine loops in the cavity; these had been moved to the pelvis and this was causing an important traction of the mesentery root. As a result, a manual reduction of the loops to the cavity through intraperitoneal traction was done; this was controlled from the perineal field. After the reduction had been completed, a 3 to 4 cm lineal craniocaudal perforation in the antimesenteric portion of the upper rectum was objectified (RIS II/AAC III). An important flaccidity of the entire pelvic musculature which contained a large rectovaginal pouch was observed, which resulted in both the superior rectum and the peritoneal reflection leaning on the pelvic floor (). The peritoneal cavity was abundantly washed with hot saline, and after some minutes, the loops initiated a visible peristalsis and took on a normal coloration. Later, the superior rectum and the sigmoid colon were dissected until the promontory, and an anterior resection of the rectum and a terminal colostomy in the left iliac region (Hartmann's procedure) were performed ().\nLater, the patient's relatives told us that she had difficulties defecating and had frequently manipulate herself to extract her feces. The patient was admitted to the intensive care unit for 3 days where she remained hemodynamically stable and her ventilatory support was ceased without incidence. She had a slow recovery, and on the 6th day tolerated oral intake well. She was discharged after 13 days, and two months later remained asymptomatic.