GĐXH - A woman with a perforated colon diverticulum has had lower abdominal pain for more than 7 months and felt a lump in her lower left abdomen. She has been to many places for examination but has not been properly diagnosed.
Recently, doctors at Xuyen A General Hospital said they had performed surgery to remove a perforated sigmoid colon, completely treating the woman's illness after nearly a year of dealing with the rare disease.
The patient is Ms. HT L (42 years old, Long An) who has had lower abdominal pain for more than 7 months, and felt a lump in the lower left abdomen. Although Ms. L had visited many places, she was not properly diagnosed, and only took medication but the pain did not improve. She then went to Xuyen A General Hospital for examination.
Doctors successfully performed endoscopy on a patient with a perforated sigmoid colon diverticulum. Photo: BVCC
At the General Surgery Department, doctors examined and felt a painful swelling in the left iliac fossa measuring 4cm. CT scan detected an abdominal abscess, colonoscopy showed a rectal ulcer scar. The patient was diagnosed with a perforated sigmoid colon diverticulum leaking out of the abdominal wall combined with a rectal-vaginal fistula, which is considered a rare case.
It is noteworthy that in this patient's case, the clinical manifestations are atypical, so doctors can easily miss the disease, leading to difficult diagnosis. For this reason, for nearly a year now, although the patient has visited many places, the disease has not been effectively treated.
After consultation, the doctors planned laparoscopic surgery to remove the patient's sigmoid colon and rectum.
After surgery, the patient no longer had abdominal pain, returned to normal eating and living activities, and was discharged after 7 days of treatment.
What is colonic diverticulum?
The colon (or large intestine) is the last part of the digestive system with a length of 1.5 - 1.8m. The function of the colon is to reabsorb water, vitamins and convert the remaining food into feces and push the feces out through the anus.
When we eat less fiber, the stool will be dry and hard to push out. Therefore, the colon must contract more to increase the pressure to push the stool out. This condition increases the pressure in the colon, the mucosal layer in the colon wall can be pushed out through the intestinal wall. From there, small pouches called colon diverticula with a size of 1 - 2cm or more are formed.
Colonic diverticula often protrude around the mucosal wall and appear in many locations of the colon, but mainly in the sigmoid colon.
Colonic diverticula can appear in many locations. Illustration photo
Are colon diverticula dangerous?
Normally, colon diverticula are not dangerous to the patient, but this condition can still cause many health risks such as:
- Diverticulitis : In normal condition, people with colon diverticula will not have clinical symptoms. However, when inflamed, the patient will have signs such as: Pain in the left abdomen, bloating, flatulence, loose stools or constipation, rectal bleeding, fever, loss of appetite and nausea...
- Bleeding : When the inflammation gets worse, it will cause the blood vessels in the diverticulum to rupture. The symptom is that the patient has bloody stools.
- Perforated colonic diverticulum : Perforated diverticulum is a rare but particularly dangerous complication because it can cause abdominal infection. To treat this complication, the patient needs to undergo surgery quickly.
How to prevent colon diverticulosis
- Add foods rich in fiber: You need to increase your intake of green vegetables and fruits to add fiber to your body. This will help your digestive system and colon function better.
- Supplement nutritional foods : In addition to fiber, we need to supplement other substances such as protein, healthy fats, and protein.
- Use fresh food : You should use fresh food instead of processed food. Pay attention to the origin of the food to ensure safe food choices for digestive health.
- Drink plenty of water : This is very important to prevent diseases related to the digestive tract.
- Practice a healthy lifestyle : Along with the above solutions, you also need to practice a healthy lifestyle such as: Regular exercise; do not use alcohol, tobacco, and have regular health check-ups 1-2 times/year.
Source: https://giadinh.suckhoedoisong.vn/nguoi-phu-nu-42-tuoi-o-long-an-nhap-vien-gap-vi-thung-tui-thua-dai-trang-tu-dau-hieu-nhieu-nguoi-viet-mac-phai-172241210121649742.htm
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