Surgery for
intestinal perforation

Following are the causes of intestinal perforations:

• Gallstones
• Appendicitis
• Infection in the gallbladder
• Bowel diseases like Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis
• Gastrointestinal cancer

Intestinal perforations are diagnosed using imaging scans like x rays, CT scans and MRI scans.

They can also be detected using tests for acid values in the blood. Assessing kidney and liver function; hemoglobin levels which may indicate blood loss.

In almost all cases surgery is necessary for closing the perforations. The main aim of the surgery is to fix the causes for peritonitis and anatomical problems and remove foreign objects that have caused the perforation.

Sometimes part of the intestine is also removed, this procedure is called colostomy. During this procedure a part of the intestine is diverted to create a stoma.

The recovery period of the surgery is six to eight months. The doctor will advise bed rest for about a month since it’s a major procedure.

The stoma is temporary and might be removed after some time.

If there are any post surgery complications then it is better to get in touch with the doctor.