1/239. Double pylorus. We report a 55-year-old man presenting with postprandial epigastric pain and vomiting. barium meal study suggested two openings from the stomach to the duodenum. endoscopy revealed double pylorus with chronic duodenal ulcer, suggesting the second opening as an acquired one. ( info) |
| peritonitis due to viscus perforation in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients can be catastrophic. We describe the first reported case of perforated peptic ulcer (PPU) in a PD patient. This 78-year-old man presented with a 1-day history of mild abdominal pain. He had been receiving nocturnal intermittent PD for 2 years and had ischemic heart disease and cirrhosis of the liver. pneumoperitoneum and peritonitis were documented, but the symptoms were mild. The "board-like abdomen" sign was not noted. air inflation and contrast radiography indicated a perforation in the upper gastrointestinal tract, and laparotomy disclosed a perforation in the prepyloric great curvature. Unfortunately, the patient died during surgery. This case illustrates that the "board-like abdomen" sign may be absent in PD patients with PPU because of dilution of gastric acid by the dialysate. Free air in the abdomen, although suggestive of PPU, is also not uncommon in PD patients without viscus perforation. Because PD has to be discontinued after laparotomy and exploratory laparotomy may be fatal in high-risk patients, other diagnostic methods should be used to confirm viscus perforation before surgery. PPU, which can be proved by air inflation and contrast radiography, should be suspected in PD patients with pneumoperitoneum and peritonitis. ( info) |
3/239. Direct sonographic signs of acute duodenal ulcer. Sonography was performed in two patients with acute epigastric pain. Isolated thickening of the duodenal wall with an echogenic line within were considered to be signs of duodenal ulcer in keeping with a suggestive clinical background. The extension of this line beyond the duodenal wall and the periduodenal fluid were indicators of perforation. The images in our two patients indicate the usefulness of ultrasonography when performed carefully in selected cases. ( info) |
4/239. Sonographic "gastric corona sign": diagnosis of gastric pneumatosis caused by a penetrating gastric ulcer. We present a case of gastric pneumatosis associated with splenoportal venous gas caused by a giant penetrating gastric ulcer. On sonography, the gastric pneumatosis appeared as a circular hyperechoic band with distal reverberations due to gas collection in the gastric wall; we termed this appearance the "gastric corona sign. "awareness of this sonographic sign may aid in the early diagnosis of gastric pneumatosis. ( info) |
5/239. Non-traumatic liver rupture due to a perforated gastric ulcer. The case of a 57-year-old woman with a fatal liver rupture due to a necrotizing perihepatic abscess caused by a perforated gastric ulcer is presented. The ulcer had been treated successfully by surgical intervention 8 days before. The autopsy revealed a large perihepatic abscess and multiple ruptures of Glisson's capsule with a large subcapsular hematoma and underlying lacerations of the liver parenchyma. The patient had no history of previous abdominal trauma and the known etiological factors for spontaneous liver rupture were excluded by the autopsy findings or by clinical and laboratory data. No liver penetration by the gastric ulcer was found at autopsy and there were no clinical signs or symptoms for an infection or any degenerative or inflammatory diseases. Histologically abundant vegetable fibers, identified as stomach contents and a dense infiltrate of lymphocytes and granulocytes were found in the perihepatic abscess next to Glisson's capsule. Below Glisson's capsule there were hemorrhages, focal hepatocellular necrosis and a mixed cell inflammatory infiltration. In the present case, preceding perforation of the gastric ulcer with leaking of gastric acid into the peritoneal cavity resulted in peptic digestion of Glisson's capsule. Vascular lesions of the affected parts of Glisson's capsule and the liver parenchyma underneath resulted in intrahepatic hemorrhage and an increase in intrahepatic pressure with subsequent liver rupture. To the authors' knowledge no similar case of spontaneous liver rupture due to perforation of a gastric ulcer has been reported previously. ( info) |
6/239. A case of abscess caused by a penetrating duodenal ulcer. A case of abscess caused by a penetrating duodenal ulcer in a 34 year-old female patient is presented. She had a past history of duodenal ulcer and presented with a low grade fever which had persisted for 1 month. Abdominal ultrasound confirmed a hypoechoic mass and computed tomography revealed a low density area in the posterior side of the hepatoduodenal ligament. The common bile duct and portal vein were compressed. Mild peripheral enhancement was detected. laparotomy was performed and an abscess in the posterior side of the hepatoduodenal ligament was confirmed. The abscess was firmly adhered to the lesser curvature side of the bulbus and a penetrating duodenal ulcer scar was noted. In conclusion, this report describes a rare event where penetrating duodenal ulcer formed an abscess with only mild complaints. ( info) |
| Tension pneumoperitoneum in an 81-year-old man resulted from the perforation of an ulcer on the posterior aspect of the first stage of the duodenum into the lesser sac. This condition, though rare, should be considered in the differential diagnosis of the massively distended abdomen. A number of different causes of this condition have been reported, most of which are associated with various diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. Treatment is early laparotomy. ( info) |
8/239. Ultrasound evidence of gas in the fissure for ligamentum teres: a sign of perforated duodenal ulcer. We present a case of confined duodenal ulcer perforation diagnosed on ultrasound. Locules of gas were visible in the fissure for ligamentum teres along with a small amount of free fluid in Morrison's pouch and thickening of the gall bladder wall. To our knowledge, "free" intraperitoneal gas confined to the fissure for ligamentum teres has not previously been reported as an ultrasound finding in perforated duodenal ulcer. ( info) |
9/239. Left diaphragmatic hernia complicated by perforation of an intrathoracic gastric ulcer into the aorta: report of a case. We describe herein a rare but fatal complication of diaphragmatic hernia that occurred in a 51-year-old man 3 years after his diaphragm had been repaired by a polytetrafluoroethylene sheet following resection during pleuropneumonectomy for a left pleural mesothelioma. He was admitted to our hospital in shock status, and was found to have massive bleeding from the nasogastric tube. An emergency operation revealed that an ulcer of the stomach, which had been displaced into the left thorax, had perforated directly into the descending aorta. ( info) |
| Postbulbar duodenal ulceration is not common, but when present is difficult to diagnose and treat. Between January 1965 and September 1971, 1,080 patients with duodenal ulcers were treated surgically at St James Hospital. Forty-one ulcers were found at operation to lie distal to the duodenal bulb. Pain was the most common indication for surgery. In six-patients it was clinically indistinguishable from biliary pain, giving rise to diagnostic difficulty. Twelve patients (29%) presented with haemorrhage, a percentage similar to the 25% of bulbar ulcers presenting with this complication over the period of this study. This is contrary to the finding in most other series, that postbulbar ulceration is more frequently complicated by haemorrhage than is bulbar ulceration. Perforation and stenosis are uncommon complications. Postbulbar ulceration is easily overlooked in conventional barium studies. Only one-third of the patients subjected to barium meal x-ray examination had their ulcers identified in the first study. In a further third the presence of an ulcer was suspected, and the remainder required multiple investigations for undiagnosed symptoms before the condition was demonstrated. duodenoscopy was not performed in a sufficient number of patients for its value to be assessed, but other reports indicate that it should be a valuable manoeuvre. The technical difficulties and potential hazards of Polya gastrectomy are discussed and special reference is made to the surgical management of bleeding postbulbar ulcers. ( info) |