Friday, July 19, 2013

Ruptured Viscus


A ruptured viscus is a medical term that many of us are unaware of. We can infer that this term denotes a medical condition that involves some form of rupture. Viscus is a term used to denote hollow organs inside the body. If you refer to a single hollow organ, then it is a viscus. If it is a group of hollow organs in a particular cavity, it is a viscera. The word viscera is usually used to denote organs in the abdominal cavity. Examples of hollow organs or viscus include the esophagus, stomach, intestines, urinary bladder, etc. These organs are found to have a strong wall with different layers and this wall is not found to give in easily. However, in certain circumstances the wall of the hollow organ ruptures thereby spilling the contents, if any. This condition is known as ruptured viscus. In other words, if for any reason, a hollow internal organ develops an abnormal opening, then the condition is referred to as ruptured viscus or perforated viscus. For example, a stomach ulcer may erode the wall of the organ and cause rupture of the stomach.

Causes and Symptoms

The most common causes of ruptured viscus are injuries or trauma. Even infections and other medical conditions may cause this condition. As far as trauma is concerned, the rupture can be described as blunt or penetrating. While blunt ones are mainly found in case of accidents, where some organs like the spleen are crushed and ruptured. In case of penetrating ones, the injury is well-defined and deep enough to cause rupture of organs like the stomach and intestines. Examples for the latter category are injuries caused by knives and gunshots.

Infections like appendicitis can sometimes cause a rupture of the organ. Intestinal rupture may happen as a complication of typhoid fever. Even infection of the gallbladder is a reason for the rupture of this organ. Apart from infections, this condition may also be caused by certain medical conditions like ulcers, diverticulitis, bowel obstruction and colon cancer. As in case of the abdominal cavity, hollow organs in other body cavities may also develop ruptures due to various causes. In most cases, ruptured viscus is found to happen in the abdominal cavity.

The symptoms may vary from one patient to another and as per the location of the rupture. If the condition develops in the abdominal cavity, the patient may develop sudden and severe pain along with abdominal tenderness, stiffness, nausea, vomiting, etc. Even a drop in blood pressure and a fast heart rate may happen. If the rupture causes spilling of the contents of the organ, inflammation of the cavity may develop, leading to fever and chills and severe life-threatening complications.

Treatment

A ruptured viscus is a condition that requires immediate treatment. In almost all cases of ruptured viscus, surgery is the most common treatment. Apart from mending the rupture, surgery deals with the spills, if any. In some cases like ulcers, remedial surgeries (like removal of vagus nerve for stomach ulcers) may also be done. Surgery can be either open or laparoscopically done. In case of a ruptured abdominal viscus, wherein the contents spill out, treatment involves suturing of the rupture and removal of the spill and peritoneal lavage to prevent infection that can be caused by the bacteria in the spill. The treatment may vary with the nature, cause and location of rupture.

In short, ruptured viscus is an emergency condition that requires immediate medical intervention. This is very important to avoid complications and to save the life of the affected person.


  • Perforated Viscus - GI Diseases, Complications and Management

    gidiseasesandcomplications.com/perforated_viscus/perforated_viscus.pdf PDF file

    PERFORATED VISCUS AND THE ACUTE ABDOMEN OBJECTIVES Presumed Knowledge: 1. The student is able to describe the structure and relationships of the GI


  • Surgical Treatment of Perforated Peptic Ulcer

    emedicine.medscape.com/article/1950689-overview

    Oct 03, 2012 Surgical Treatment of Perforated Peptic Ulcer. Because of the success of medical therapy in the management of peptic ulcer disease (PUD), surgery has a ...


  • GI Diseases, Complications and Management

    www.gidiseasesandcomplications.com

    This site is directed to medical students and junior surgical residents, focusing on clinical presentation, diagnosis, initial management and complications occuring ...


  • Perforation Define Perforation at Dictionary.com

    dictionary.reference.com/browse/perforation

    noun 1. a hole, or one of a series of holes, bored or punched through something, as those between individual postage stamps of a sheet to facilitate separation. 2. a ...


  • What Is a Perforated Viscus? - wiseGEEK: clear answers for

    www.wisegeek.org/what-is-a-perforated-viscus.htm

    A perforated viscus is an abnormal opening in a hollow internal organ. Extremely dangerous, a perforated viscus can be fatal if...


  • hollow viscus - definition of hollow viscus in the Medical ...

    medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/hollow+viscus

    viscus /viscus/ (viskus) pl. viscera [L.] any large interior organ in any of the three great body cavities, especially those in the abdomen.


  • What is Perforated Bowel? - wiseGEEK: clear answers for

    www.wisegeek.com/what-is-perforated-bowel

    Jun 20, 2013 A perforated bowel occurs when a hole opens up in the bowel, letting its contents into the abdomen, often with deadly results...


  • Perforated diverticulum of the transverse colon Wilkinson TR ...

    www.saudijgastro.com/article.asp?issn=1319-3767;year=2007;volume=...

    Year : 2007 Volume: 13 Issue: 4 Page: 194-196: Perforated diverticulum of the transverse colon: Triloksingh R.V Wilkinson 1, Anne R Wilkinson 2


  • Reversal of Hartmann's Procedure after Perforated Diverticulitis ...

    www.bioportfolio.com/resources/pmarticle/100716/Reversal-of...

    Reversal of Hartmann's Procedure after Perforated Diverticulitis through the Stomal Side without Additional Incisions: The SIR Procedure.


  • Viscus - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster

    www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/viscus

    Definition of VISCUS. 1: an internal organ of the body; especially: one (as the heart, liver, or intestine) located in the great cavity of the trunk proper


  • Pleurisy Causes, Symptoms, Treatment - Pleurisy Symptoms on ...

    www.emedicinehealth.com/pleurisy/page3_em.htm

    Learn about pleurisy symptoms such as chest pain, cough, shortness of breath, and fever. Pleurisy is an inflammation of the pleura and fluid in the pleural sac.

  • Viscous Define Viscous at Dictionary.com

    dictionary.reference.com/browse/viscous

    adjective 1. of a glutinous nature or consistency; sticky; thick; adhesive. 2. having the property of viscosity . Also, viscose . Origin: 13501400; Middle English ...

  • A to Z List of Medical Diseases, Disorders, Common Medical ...

    www.buzzle.com/articles/diseases-and-disorders

    Diseases and Disorders Medical reference with alphabetical list of diseases, disorders, illness and injuries with common medical conditions explained.

  • perforation - definition of perforation in the Medical dictionary ...

    medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/perforation

    perforation (pr f-r sh n) n. 1. The act of perforating or the state of being perforated. 2. An abnormal opening in a hollow organ or viscus, as one made by ...

  • Abdominal Pain Causes - The Doctors Lounge(TM)

    doctorslounge.com/gastroenterology/diagnosis/pain/abdominal.htm

    Abdominal pain The diagnosis of "acute or surgical abdomen" is not an acceptable one because of its often misleading and erroneous connotation.

  • Common Causes of Abdominal Pain

    www.healthsciences.okstate.edu/college/clinical/crh/rural_clinic/... PDF file

    Abdominal Pain Charles Henley, DO, MPH Department of Family Medicine OSU College of Osteopathic Medicine (Revised 9/2002)

  • ACUTE ABDOMINAL PAIN - South African Association of Clinical ...

    www.saclinpath.co.za/documents/abdom.doc DOC file

    ( wbc > 20, in favour of viscus perforation, but also seen with pancreatitis, acute cholesistitis, ... May demonstrate an ( pancreas, ruptured spleen, ...

  • Atrial Fibrillation (A Fib) Causes, Symptoms, Treatment - Atrial ...

    www.emedicinehealth.com heart health a-z list

    Learn about atrial fibrillation (A fib), a rapid, irregular heart rhythm. Learn about symptoms, treatment, guidelines, ablation, EKG, causes, and more.

  • Rupture of multiple splenic artery aneurysms: A common ...

    www.saudijgastro.com/article.asp?issn=1319-3767;year=2009;volume=...

    Official Journal of Saudi Gastroenterology Association. ... The splenic artery is the most frequent site of visceral arterial aneurysms.

  • Peritonitis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acute_peritonitis

    Peritonitis is an inflammation of the peritoneum, the thin tissue that lines the inner wall of the abdomen and covers most of the abdominal organs. Peritonitis may be ...

  • Imaging Patients with Acute Abdominal Pain1 - Radiology

    radiology.rsna.org/content/253/1/31.full

    Abstract. Acute abdominal pain may be caused by a myriad of diagnoses, including acute appendicitis, diverticulitis, and cholecystitis. Imaging plays ...

  • Focussed Assessment Sonograph Trauma (FAST) and CT scan in

    www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov Afr Health Sci v.6(3); Sep 2006

    Focussed Assessment Sonograph Trauma (FAST) and CT scan in blunt abdominal trauma: surgeon's perspective

  • Abdominal Pain in Adults 1 - MedEd Connect

    mededconnect.com/samplechapters/9781455707720/9781455707720.pdf PDF file

    1 Abdominal pain is the most common complaint seen in emergency departments in the United States and one of the 10 most common complaints in family medi-

  • Septic Shock video - Animation by Cal Shipley, M.D. Trial Image ...

    www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxpIxBGcg9U

    3D animation of septic shock caused by perforation of the intestine (perforated viscus). http://www.trialimagestore.com Depicts cascade of events with ...

0 comments:

Post a Comment