On June 16, BSCKII Tran Van Thanh - Head of Surgery Department, Saigon Hoi An General Hospital said - the patient is an Australian female tourist, 55 years old, who came to Hoi An for tourism and suddenly appeared symptoms of severe abdominal pain, continuous vomiting. Although pain relievers were used, the condition did not improve.
Through examination and imaging diagnosis, doctors determined that the patient had acute intestinal cataract with constriction complications, causing intestinal anemia - a dangerous surgical condition that could be life-threatening if not treated promptly. The patient was immediately indicated for emergency surgery.
Medical history exploitation shows that this is a particularly complex case when the patient had undergone 4 previous abdominal surgeries, including stomach shrinkage surgery to treat obesity, internal hernia surgery, necrotic intubation surgery and tracheostomy surgery to treat abdominal hernia.
In the 5th surgery, the team discovered that the patient's intestinal circulation system had changed very complicatedly due to many previous surgical interventions. Notably, a segment of the small intestine more than 20cm long crawled against the normal motility of the intestine, upside down to the Y-shaped mouth joint created from previous weight loss surgery.
The intestinal cage was constricted, causing anemia and facing the risk of necrosis. After many hours of intervention, the doctors successfully removed the cage, preserving the entire segment of the intestine, helping the patient avoid the risk of small intestine removal.
According to BSCKII Tran Van Thanh, gastrointestinal regurgitation after stomach shrinkage surgery to treat obesity is a very rare complication, only appearing with a rate of about 0.07-0.6% in the world. In particular, up to now, domestic medical literature has not recorded any similar cases reported.
This is a case with a special disease-generating mechanism, dangerous progression and very easy to miss if not thought of in patients who have had weight loss surgery. Early detection and timely treatment play a decisive role in preserving the intestines and saving the patient's life," Dr. Thanh said.
After surgery, the female tourist recovered well, her health was stable and she was discharged from the hospital.
Doctors recommend that people who have undergone surgery to treat obesity, especially foreign tourists with a history of abdominal surgery, need to see a doctor immediately when symptoms of abnormal abdominal pain, prolonged vomiting or intestinal obstruction appear for early diagnosis and treatment.
