Recommended Citation
Fayed M, Angappan S, Oyibo O, Valliani A. Role of Imaging Studies in Evaluating Patients Post Cytoreductive Surgery and Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy. Cureus 2021; 13(12):20601-20601.
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
12-1-2021
Publication Title
Cureus
Abstract
A 77-year-old male presented to the ED with a new onset of acute abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting. He had a previous surgical history of cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) for an appendiceal tumor. Despite the repeated reassuring abdominal examinations, CT abdomen showed high-grade bowel obstruction and perforation. He was urgently taken to the operating room and underwent resection of 70 cm segment of small ischemic bowel with primary anastomosis. His postoperative course was complicated with atrial fibrillation (AF) requiring cardioversion and medical therapy. Later, he was discharged home under stable conditions. Relying on abdominal signs, an abdominal exam in a patient with a previous history of extensive peritonectomy and post-HIPEC surgery is challenging due to the altered peritoneal anatomy. As a result, the abdominal examination findings can be benign and misleading. This can lead to delayed surgical intervention, thereby increasing morbidity and mortality significantly. Therefore, a detailed evaluation with a low threshold for abdominal imaging studies like abdominal X-rays and CT abdomen series is warranted in this subset of patients.
PubMed ID
35103177
Volume
13
Issue
12
First Page
20601
Last Page
20601
