Sometimes patients can present with severe pain in the tummy. They may also present with signs of sepsis
This can happen in previously healthy individuals or more commonly in patients with cancer, diverticular disease, or other known intestinal pathology
Patients are generally unwell when they present with bowel perforation and most will need urgent surgery
The investigation of choice is a CT scan, but some might need surgery without investigations
The surgery is called exploratory laparotomy and in that the entire bowel is checked and depending on the pathology the surgery is performed
For large bowel perforation Hartmann’s procedure is the most common where the bowel is resected, and a stoma made. This can be life saving
For small bowel perforations sometimes you can stitch the same but in some patients the bowel needs to be resected. Occasionally a stoma needs to be made
