Colonic casts: unexpected complications of colonic ischaemia
- 1 September 2016
- journal article
- case report
- Published by Royal College of Surgeons of England in The Annals of The Royal College of Surgeons of England
- Vol. 98 (7), e109-e110
- https://doi.org/10.1308/rcsann.2016.0161
Abstract
Introduction Extensive colonic ischaemia can result in passage of a colonic ‘cast’ (CC) through the rectum. Case Study We report a 69-year-old male who initially underwent surgery to remove a sessile polyp. On postoperative day (POD)15, he was febrile, suffering from diarrhoea, and was treated conservatively. On POD18, the patient returned to our hospital with a CC that presented after defaecation. Computed tomography of the abdomen revealed a CC extending from the descending colon to the anal orifice with presentation of air between the affected colonic wall and the CC. The patient was treated conservatively and discharged on POD20 without complications having passed the CC (≈80cm) completely and becoming afebrile. Conclusions In most cases, the cause of CC passage is surgery for colorectal cancer or repair of an abdominal aortic aneurysm. A mild-to-severe presentation is dependent upon the bowel-wall layers affected by ischaemia and which therefore are included in the CC.This publication has 5 references indexed in Scilit:
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