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INTRODUCTION: Haemobilia is an uncommon entity even though its frequency has increased with hepato-biliary instrumentation and procedures. It can be associated with obstructive jaundice and pancreatitis (Green et al., 2001) [1]. Haemobilia following cholecystectomy has frequently been reported in association with hepatic artery pseudo-aneurysm (Curet et al., 1981; Ribeiro et al., 1998) [2,3]. The authors wish to report a case of haemobilia due to a porto-biliary fistula presenting as acute pancreatitis. PRESENTATION OF CASE: A 34-year-old female admitted as an urgency with upper abdominal pain for 3 weeks. She had, in the preceding days, been admitted to another hospital with acute pancreatitis. She reported an episode of rectal bleeding during that admission and possessed an abdominal ultrasound scan (USS) and magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) which suggested the presence of a biliary tract neoplasm. The patient was also found to be jaundiced and the diagnosis of a porto-biliary fistula was made at operation. CONCLUSION: The diagnosis in this case was found to be a portal vein-biliary tract fistula occurring post cholecystectomy. An awareness of the spectrum of complications related to modern surgical techniques may aid timely diagnosis and the achievement of favourable outcomes.
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INTRODUCTION: A pancreatic pseudocyst is a common sequela of severe acute pancreatitis. Commonly, it presents with abdominal pain and a mass in the epigastrium several weeks after the acute episode and can be managed conservatively, endoscopically or surgically. We report a patient with a pancreatic pseudocyst awaiting endoscopic therapy who developed a life-threatening complication following a rather innocuous trauma to the abdomen. CASE PRESENTATION: A 23-year-old Asian male student presented as an emergency with an acute abdomen a week after a minor trauma to his upper abdomen. The injury occurred when he was innocently punched in the abdomen by a friend. He experienced only moderate discomfort briefly at the time. His past medical history included coeliac disease and an admission four months previously with severe acute pancreatitis. He was hospitalized for 15 days; his pancreatitis was thought to be due to alcohol binge drinking on weekends. Ultrasound scanning showed no evidence of gallstone disease. Five days after the trauma, he became anorexic, lethargic and feverish and started vomiting bilious content. Seven days post-trauma, he presented to our emergency department with severe abdominal pain. An emergency laparotomy was performed where a transverse linear duodenal laceration was found at the junction of the first and second part of his duodenum, with generalized peritonitis. His stomach and duodenum were stretched over a large pancreatic pseudocyst posterior to his stomach. It was postulated that an incomplete duodenal injury (possibly a serosal tear) occurred following the initial minor trauma, which was followed by local tissue necrosis at the injury site resulting in a delayed presentation of generalized peritonitis. CONCLUSION: This is the first reported case of a traumatic duodenal laceration following minor blunt trauma in the presence of a large pancreatic pseudocyst. Minor blunt abdominal trauma in a normal healthy adult would not be expected to result in a significant duodenal injury. In the presence of a large pseudocyst, however, the stretching of the duodenum over the pseudocyst had probably predisposed the duodenum to this injury. Patients awaiting therapeutic interventions for their pancreatic pseudocysts should be warned about this unusual but life-threatening risk following minor blunt abdominal trauma.
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INTRODUCTION: Acute pseudo-obstruction of the large bowel following normal vaginal delivery is an extremely rare complication of normal vaginal delivery. It can be fatal if not recognized early. Only one previous report has been found in the English literature. CASE PRESENTATION: A 36-year old Caucasian, normally fit woman presented with abdominal distension and vomiting five days post-normal vaginal delivery at term. Localised peritonitis in the right iliac fossa developed in the next few days, and caecal perforation was found at laparotomy, without evidence of appendicitis or colitis. CONCLUSION: Although very rare, Ogilvie's syndrome should be considered by obstetricians, general surgeons and general practitioners as a potential cause of vomiting and abdominal pain following normal vaginal delivery. Early recognition and management are essential to minimize the possibility of developing serious complications.
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We describe an interesting case of pneumomediastinum secondary to cocaine abuse. The patient presented with severe chest pain following nasal inhalation of a large quantity of cocaine. Investigations revealed no chest injury; however oesophagitis was proven leading to a possible aetiology of oesophageal microperforation. After conservative management there was spontaneous resolution of the pneumomediastinum.
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Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB) is the most common bariatric surgical procedure done currently. It is the preferred choice as it is adjustable, minimally invasive, easily reversible, and does not cause metabolic complications. However, complications like slippage, leakage, erosion-causing perforation, pouch dilatation, pouch herniation, oesophageal dilatation/dysmotility, port disconnection, and migration of band have been reported. We report a rare case of LAGB who presented with life-threatening upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage due to erosion of band into celiac axis 4 months after the operation. An urgent laparotomy was necessary to control the hemorrhage from the celiac axis.