Bowel Perforation & Bowel Obstruction | Ruptured Bowel Survival Rate

Hernia mesh bowel obstruction complications

Perforations can occur during surgery, but bowel obstructions sometimes occur a few weeks later as a result of a bacterial infection.The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) lists bowel obstructions and perforations as side effects which can result from hernia repair. Perforations can occur during surgery, but bowel obstructions sometimes occur a few weeks later as a result of a bacterial infection. A bacterial, fungal, or viral infection from invasive mesh or surgical repair of intestine can release the bacterial content of the bowel into the abdomen and blood stream which results in swelling, abscess, a blockage, or death.  The ruptured bowel survival rate is 30 percent.

Bowel Perforation & Bowel Obstruction

“A woman who had mesh inserted to repair a hernia says her life is a living hell dominated by excruciating bowel obstructions, leaving her vomiting up faeces. Kathleen Levinson fought back tears when she told the ABC about her experience with hernia repair mesh. Ms Levinson, who lives near Newcastle in New South Wales, said the mesh device had been put in several years ago after decades of rectal incontinence since the birth of her son. But she said complications had left her in chronic pain with trapped nerves, a dropped foot and regular bowel obstructions that left her choking on her own faeces.” http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-07-31/hernia-mesh-patient-says-chronic-pain-makes-life-a-living-hell/10051774 “Vomiting faeces is something else, I can tell you. It is the only time in my life that I wanted to die,” Ms Levinson said….It just takes over every aspect of your life and the pain is unbearable…I breathe like I am going through childbirth. It is the only way to get through it…Ms Levinson said she feared drowning in her own faeces.” Id.

Hernia mesh bowel obstruction complication

• An inability to use the bathroom, caused an obstruction, could be linked to hernia mesh complications.
• Bowel obstruction is blockage that develops in the large or small intestine, causing difficulty with urinating or defecating.
• “A bowel obstruction may be caused by an adhesion, which occurs when scar-tissue or loops of the intestines adhere to mesh. In more severe cases, a removal of the bowel may be necessary.” Medtruth
• This can influence the ruptured bowel survival rate.

Bowel obstruction

Bowel Perforation

“Bowel perforation happens when hernia mesh punctures or erodes into the bowel. Mesh may also perforate the abdominal wall or another organ in the abdomen. Bowel Perforation Symptoms:

What is a hernia? 

A hernia is an organ or tissue protruding through an opening or weak abdominal tissue. Hernias are congenital, developed, or stress induced. Heavy lifting, obesity, diarrhea, or poor nutrition combined with overexertion cause hernias. 

Hernia Surgery

 A million hernia surgeries are performed each year in the United States. Inguinal hernia, a hernia in the groin, is the most frequently performed surgery. Eight hundred thousand of the one million annual hernia surgeries are due to inguinal hernias, which occur in ten times more men than women. 

Laparoscopic or Open Surgery 

Laparoscopic surgery or open primary closure surgery are options for surgical repair of hernias. Laparoscopic surgery is less invasive than primary closure hernia repair. The laparoscopic surgeon makes multiple small incisions into the abdomen and inserts tools to repair the herniated area. Open surgery requires a longer incision. The open primary closure surgery is primarily used to repair infant’s hernias or infected hernias. 

Surgical Mesh Surgery

 Surgical mesh strengthens weak abdominal structures and reduces the need to repeat the hernia surgery. Surgical mesh reduced the need for additional surgery and decreased operative and recovery time. Recovery time always depends on the type of surgery and the condition of the patient before and after surgery regardless of the type of surgery. Hernia mesh reduced the hernia recurrence rate. Even the type of sutures used can increase or decrease the recurrence rate. 

Surgical Mesh Complications | mesh side effects

“The most serious complications of hernia mesh are also some of the most common. Hernia mesh complications include adhesion, bowel obstruction or perforation, infection, rejection and migration.” Drug watch

Most of the bowel obstructions and bowel perforations that occurred as a result of hernia mesh surgery were complications of defective surgical mesh products which were  either already recalled or subject to hernia mesh lawsuits across the country. All bowel obstructions and perorations following hernia surgery should be reported to the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control.  Infection, recurrence, adhesion, obstruction, and perforation are the most severe adverse effects for hernia surgery. 

Perforated bowel symptoms

“Partial or complete intestinal blockages that prevent normal passage of food, fluids and gas – are serious medical conditions that can lead to life-threatening compromises. There are a variety of ways they can occur, including: tumours, fecal impaction and certain medications that affect the digestive tract.  Complications from surgery, including ones involving defective hernia mesh, can also lead to bowel obstructions. When post-operative scar tissue or adhesions (bands of scar tissue) form in the large or small intestines, the resulting blockages can lead to acute or chronic health problems.” https://herniameshlawsuit.ca/article/defective-hernia-mesh-bowel-obstructions/

Perforated bowel survival rates

Bowel perforation and bowel obstruction as a result of hernia mesh complications are very serious matters needing the attention of one of the best hernia mesh lawyers in the United States.Perforated bowel symptoms are very serious complications. Many victims are wondering about the ruptured bowel survival rate as well as perforated bowel survival rates.

Large bowel

“Perforations of large bowel are rare but severe complications, mainly of colorectal cancer and colonic diverticulitis. The choice of the surgical procedure is still debated. We retrospectively studied peritonitis caused by large bowel perforation to assess predictors of mortality and safety of primary resection and anastomosis. We investigated 59 patients with large bowel perforation treated surgically as emergency cases: 18 patients underwent primary resection and anastomosis, 36 had primary resection of the diseased part of bowel without anastomosis, and 5 patients had non-resective procedures. The severity of peritonitis was assessed using Hinchey’s classification and the Mannheim peritonitis index (MPI). Overall mortality was 16.9%. MPI score was significantly lower for survivors vs. non-survivors, and for patients with resection and anastomosis vs. those who underwent resection without anastomosis (p<0.001). The mortality rate was 11.1% for primary resection with anastomosis, and 22.2% for primary resection without anastomosis. No patient with MPI less than 25 died, while 10 (38.5%) of the patients with MPI of 26-36 died. In conclusion, a radical aggressive approach is recommended for most patients with large bowel perforation. Mortality and morbidity are closely related to the extent of intraperitoneal infection and the incidence of postoperative complications is higher in patients with perforation due to non-malignant causes.” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12525912

Emergency surgery to repair

“This gastrointestinal case involves a middle aged male who had undergone an outpatient surgery to repair a knee injury. After the surgery was completed, the patient was discharged with medication for pain. For several days after the surgery, the patient was unable to move his bowels and had significant abdominal pain, bloating, nausea, and lethargy. He was taken to the ER and admitted to the hospital, where he was given stool softeners, however he remained in significant pain. He was not given a CT or any other abdominal imaging studies, nor did the ER doctor call in a surgeon when the patient initially presented to the hospital. After spending several days in agonizing pain, he was eventually given a CT scan and diagnosed with a perforated bowel. An urgent surgical consultation was called for, and he underwent emergency surgery to repair the perforation. As a result of the delay in detecting his bowel injuries, the patient suffered from myriad complications, including trouble breathing and multiple organ failure. Doctors performed a series of additional surgeries in an attempt to stabilize the patient’s condition, including abdominal wash outs and drainage installation. Doctors also removed a significant length of the patient’s intestines. Despite these efforts, the patient developed sepsis and eventually died in the hospital.” https://www.theexpertinstitute.com/case-studies/bowel-perforation-causes-multiple-organ-failure-and-death/

Medical Surgical Errors 

Dr. Martin Makary, Surgical Professional of John Hopkins University School of Medicine, reports that 250,000 patients die annually in the United States from surgical, physician, and medical errors. He urged the Centers for Disease Control to collect physician and medical error statistics to improve medical care for all patients. He estimated the annual medical-surgical error rate in the United States is 9.5 percent. 

Defective Products | unsafe devices, Johnson and Johnson 

Johnson and Johnson claims that they put patient safety first. Johnson and Johnson, voluntarily withdrew its Physiomesh from the market on June 20, 2016. Two hernia registries recorded an elevated number of repeat surgeries “after laparoscopic ventral hernia repairs.” 

Blockage Due to Infection 

Hernia mesh is a medical device which can host deadly bacteria infections. After successful surgery which the patient tolerated well, the Journal of Clinical Microbiology reported a single case of M. goodii infection after “prosthetic mesh material was used for the surgical repair.” In this case, a blockage developed from an abscess in the abdominal wall. Mycobacterium goodii was isolated in post-surgical drainage and aspirate removed from the abdomen with a needle. Surgical intervention was required to remove the mesh synthetic mesh and debride the infection. Prolonged stringent antibiotic therapy followed the second surgery. 

Hospital Associated Infections

 A Multistate Survey of Health Care–Associated Infections, published by the 2018 Massachusetts Medical Society, studied hospital associated infections in 11,282 patients in 183 hospitals. The most prevalent hospital associated infection was pneumonia. Surgical-site infections accounted for 21.8% of the infections while gastrointestinal infections accounted for 17.1% of the hospital acquired infections. Clostridium difficile caused 12.1% of the hospital acquired infections. 

Device Acquired Infections 

Cardiovascular access devices, catheters, and respiratory equipment caused most of these hospital acquired infections (25.6%). Gastrointestinal infections from intestinal surgical sites may be as high as 39 percent, but “infant survival rates from congenital hernia surgery improved from 42% during 1970-1983 to 79% during 1989-1997.”If you have suffered bowel perforation, perforated bowel symptoms or bowel obstruction as a result of defective hernia mesh, contact a hernia mesh lawsuit lawyer. A hernia mesh lawsuit law firm will get you justice and compensation as a result of your bowel perforation or bowel obstruction.

Ruptured bowel survival rate

What is the ruptured bowel survival rate? “Intestinal perforation is considered a life-threatening condition with high morbidity and mortality that requires immediate surgery or treatment. Perforated bowel, along with peritonitis, is considered the most dangerous condition. The bacterial contamination in the peritoneal cavity potentially increases the risk and the mortality rates range from 11 to 18 percentage. Despite improvements in surgical and medical treatments, the overall mortality rate of perforated bowel is 30 percent.” Study.com