A 25-year-old man was admitted to the emergency department after falling off his bicycle. He was hit by the bicycle's handle bar into the left side of the abdomen. The clinical examination revealed a fit young man who had only a scratch (abrasion) on the abdominal wall left of the umbilicus. Hemodynamically he was normal and alert and referred to intense pain at the abrasion site. The abdomen was soft, without signs of peritoneal irritation while sensitivity was only at the point of the abrasion. Laboratory tests, including white blood cells, liver enzymes, and amylase, were normal. The abdominal X-ray in upright (standing) position did not reveal the presence of free intraperitoneal air. Abdominal ultrasound did not reveal any solid abdominal organ injury nor the presence of free intraperitoneal fluid. The pain was attributed to hematoma of the rectus abdominis muscle pricey below the abrasion which was revealed by ultrasound.\nThe pain of the young man was gradually worsening and was mostly described diffusely throughout the whole abdomen. The abdomen remained soft and tender without signs of peritoneal irritation. We proceeded to the administration of per os contrast material and CT abdomen. The CT scan revealed the presence of sufficient amount of free intraperitoneal contrast but did not allow the clarification of the exact point of escape. The free contrast material was detected at the left side of the abdomen, at the area of the descending colon but mainly in the pelvis (). The intraluminal contrast had even reached up the level of the transverse colon.\nThe patient was taken to the operating room for exploratory laparotomy immediately after the CT scan (4 hours after the arrival at the emergency department and about 4.5 hours after the time of injury). Intraoperatively, fecal peritonitis due to isolated rupture of jejunum 30 cm from the ligament of Treitz was revealed. The rupture was at the center of an extensive jejunum serous layer fissure giving the picture of “blow out” perforation. At the jejunal mesentery there was minimal bruising. Multiple washings of the peritoneal cavity were performed with normal saline, and the restoration of jejunal injury was done with partial resection and end-to-end anastomosis ().\nThe postoperative course of the patient was uncomplicated, and he was discharged on the 6th postoperative day. 9 days later he returned with clinical and radiological signs of ileus that led us to the operating room 48 hours later due to deterioration of his clinical picture. The cause of the ileum was adhesions, so we proceeded to lysis of adhesions. The anastomosis was normal without leakage. Five days later the patient was discharged, and a year later he is still free of symptoms.
A 70-year-old male was presented to the emergency department after being hit by a bull. He presented with a complaint of pain in the abdomen and swelling in the left lumbar region []. On presentation, his vital parameters (blood pressure: 120/80, pulse rate: 72/min, respiratory rate: 18/min, temperature: afebrile) were stable. On physical examination, his left abdomen was found to have a bulging mass, not reducible, without definite ecchymosis. There was mild tenderness and rebound tenderness over the protrusion, but there was no muscle guarding or generalized tenderness over the whole abdomen. We suspected the abdominal protrusion to be caused by a fascial disruption, although the demarcation could not be clearly delineated by physical examination. The bowel sounds were normal. The findings from the initial laboratory studies were normal. Chest and abdomen X-rays were normal. Abdominal ultrasound showed a small amount of free fluid in perihepatic space, pelvis, and in between gut loops and protrusion of omentum from lateral abdominal wall.\nAfter preoperative work-up, decision was made to operate. An incision was made over the herniation site, and omentum was found to be herniated out of the defect that was reduced into the peritoneal cavity []. After looking out for any bleeding from the omental vessels, blood collected in the peritoneal cavity was aspirated, and clots were removed, still looking out for the cause of hemoperitoneum. The surgery was converted into a midline laparotomy, and a thorough evaluation of solid organs and gut was carried out. Spleen, liver and small bowel were found to be normal.\nIntraoperatively, there was gangrene of a part of the transverse colon in its distal 1/3rd part near splenic flexure with a tear in the mesocolon []. The gangrenous portion of the transverse colon was resected and converted into colostomy. The tear in the mesocolon was repaired. Both abdominal wounds were closed in layers. Patient felt well after the surgery and was discharged on the 7th postoperative day. Closure of colostomy and primary repair of the hernia were done 3 months after the initial injury.