20 Apr 2024Case Report
Postoperative Bowel Obstruction as a Rare Complication of an Abdominal Drain
Iraklis Perysinakis 1
Evangelia Vassalou 2Georgios Saridakis 1Matthaios Triantafyllou 2Vasilis Christodoulou 1Paraskevi Triantafylla 1Eufrosini Papadaki 2Eelco Bree 1
Affiliations
Article Info
1 Department of Surgical Oncology, University Hospital of Heraklion, 71110 Heraklion, Crete, Greece
2 Department of Medical Imaging, University Hospital of Heraklion, 71110 Heraklion, Crete, Greece
Published: 20 Apr 2024
Copyright © 2024 The Author(s).
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Abstract
Although routine intra-abdominal drain insertion following surgery represents a common practice worldwide, its utility has been questioned during the last decades. Several comparative studies have failed to document significant benefits from routine draining, and drain insertion has been correlated with various complications as well. Drain-related complications include, but are not limited, to infection, bleeding, and tissue erosion. Herein, we present the case of a 32-year-old patient with perforated peptic ulcer and purulent peritonitis, whose postoperative course was complicated by early mechanical bowel obstruction due to an abdominal drain. A high level of clinical suspicion, along with accurate imaging diagnosis, dictated prompt removal of the drain, which resulted in immediate resolution of the patient's symptoms. We aim to increase the clinical awareness of this rare complication related to intra-abdominal drain utilization with this report.
Keywords
- abdominal drain
- complications
- bowel obstruction