Florida Man's Gut, Loops of Large Intestine Pop Out Due to Sneezing and Coughing; Wound Dehiscence From His Recent Abdominal Surgery Cited as Main Cause

A Florida man who recently went through abdominal surgery saw an unfortunate incident while having breakfast in a diner, wherein his sneezing and coughing caused his guts to pop from the surgery site.

Several large intestine loops were observed to flop out of the man's gut.

Guts: Large Intestine Pops Out Due to Sneezing, Coughing

The man, 63, underwent the surgery 15 days before this happened. The staples of his surgical site were removed that very morning. The breakfast event was initially held as a celebration of staple removal.

His gut-popping case was documented in the "An Unusual Case of Bowel Evisceration after Sneezing" report.

As noted in the paper, the man forcefully sneezed and coughed afterward when he observed pain and a "wet sensation" in his surgical site in his lower abdomen.

As he looked down, he saw that several large intestine loops were protruding from the wound site.

The man was apparently unsure of how he should have handled the situation. Hence, he just used his shirt to cover the intestinal loops.

Initially, he wanted to drive himself to the hospital. However, due to concerns that positional changes could end up injuring his bowel, his wife decided to request an ambulance to pick them up.

The ambulance rapidly reached the diner and discovered that large bowel amounts poked through roughly three inches of the man's wound. There was minimal bleeding observed.

The paper noted that a paramedic thought of pushing the loops inside. However, the paramedic ultimately decided not to do this in order to avoid possible bowel injuries.

She then opted to make use of a pad to cover the intestines and secure the man. The man was also given painkillers for the hospital trip.

When he reached the emergency department, the urology service was immediately consulted. The man appeared to have normal vital signs. Preoperative blood tests were also taken and seen to not be changed based on the most recent comparisons.

The specialists opted to insert a nasogastric tube. The man also agreed to have an exploratory laparotomy.

The researchers explained that a trio of urologic surgeons reduced the eviscerated intestine into the cavity of the abdomen. They checked the small bowel's full length and did not see any injury signs.

They observed that the suture line decreased at the center and ended up getting closed with various sutures.

Evisceration and Wound Dehiscence

The man's case occurred due to wound dehiscence, which happens when a wound does not properly heal, resulting in the separation of the edges.

Considering the operation that the man experienced, this complication is common. In fact, according to a 2023 study, roughly 7% of cystectomies lead to a form of dehiscence.

Though wound dehiscence is common, the case brought about by sneezing is crucial due to how evisceration through a surgical site in the abdomen post-cystectomy is poorly detailed in the medical literature.