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PERFORATION OF THE SMALL INTESTINE BY SWALLOWED FOREIGN BODIES 2
Author(s) -
MELVILLE C. B.
Publication year - 1940
Publication title -
australian and new zealand journal of surgery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.111
H-Index - 51
eISSN - 1445-2197
pISSN - 0004-8682
DOI - 10.1111/j.1445-2197.1940.tb03554.x
Subject(s) - medicine , perforation , peritonitis , foreign bodies , foreign body , autopsy , surgery , ileum , meckel's diverticulum , gastrointestinal perforation , general surgery , diverticulum (mollusc) , materials science , punching , metallurgy
Summary1 Five cases of perforation of the ileum and one case of perforation of a Meckel's diverticulum by an ingested foreign body have been reported. In addition, nine cases from the literature have been reviewed. 2 The condition is not common, and apparently has never been diagnosed before operation or autopsy. 3 This is because of a close similarity to acute appendicitis in some cases; in others, the clinical features have been too confusing to suggest an origin for the peritonitis. 4 This latter group may be confusing because of the rarity of similar cases in any one surgeon's experience. 5 To aid in the diagnosis of the condition a theoretical postulate, consisting of ( a ) colic, ( b ) peritonitis, and ( c ) lower abdominal locus, has been advanced. 6 When analysed, many of the acute cases actually do approximate to this theoretical concept. 7 The influence of the omentum and of the effective size of the perforation lias been stressed as modifying the above features of a typical case. 8 Although uncommon, a perforation of the small gut by a foreign body should be kept in mind as a possible cause of an obscure peritonitis.