HOW BOWEL PERFORATION HAPPENS
When you are being operated on, very sharp instruments are involved. Usually, the surgeon who is working on you is highly skilled and gets the job done with no problems. There are times, though, when surgical errors lead to a perforated bowel.
If a surgeon is operating on your intestines or other organs close by, there is always a possibility they will hit the bowel. When this happens they usually realize the problem and correct it immediately.
Also, any time there is a procedure in which instruments are inserted into the body, such as a colonoscopy, there is a chance the bowel could be perforated.
Chances of recovery improve with early diagnosis and treatment.
If the mistake is not caught and the patient is closed up, major problems will quickly arise. Bacteria, bile, stomach acid, partially digested food, and stool can begin to enter the body from the intestines. This will cause an infection to rapidly set in, often leading to sepsis.
Bowel perforations can also happen from stomach ulcers that develop due to taking aspirin, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and other steroids that older adults are often prescribed. If a doctor does not perform a full medical history or check for symptoms of ruptured bowel when a patient is on these medications and a patient is not treated quickly, this is a major diagnostic error that can lead to death.
