On February 10, Viet Duc Hospital reported an unusual case: an 18-year-old male suffered a ruptured colon after a reckless act of using an air hose to spray into his anus.
The young man (of H’Mong ethnicity, from Ha Giang) shared that while working at a fish meal grinder factory in Van Giang, Hung Yen, a colleague playfully used a high-pressure air compressor (typically used for drying) to spray strongly into his anus. After the incident, the patient experienced severe abdominal pain and was rushed to emergency care by his friends.
Dr. Le Nhat Huy, Level 2 Specialist, Deputy Director of the Colorectal – Perineal Surgery Center at Viet Duc Hospital, stated that the patient arrived at the hospital with severe abdominal pain and generalized abdominal rigidity.
X-ray image showing a patient's abnormally distended colon after an air compressor prank“Film images showed the patient’s colon frame was abnormally distended. The patient was diagnosed with generalized peritonitis due to colorectal rupture and required emergency surgery,” Dr. Huy informed.
Dr. Huy added that upon opening the patient’s abdomen, doctors found multiple ruptures in the colon, with the most severe being in the sigmoid colon near the rectum.
Furthermore, the colon’s mucous membrane was hematoma-filled, with some necrotic areas; the abdomen contained a lot of bloody fluid, and the infection had begun to spread throughout the abdominal cavity.
Doctors had to resect the ruptured and necrotic segment of the sigmoid colon, suture scattered serosal tears on the colon and rectum, and create a temporary colostomy.
After 10 days of treatment, the patient was discharged. However, to restore natural digestive function, the patient will need a second surgery after approximately 6 months to close the colostomy.
Dr. Huy warned that ignorant actions can lead to severe consequences. At the hospital, doctors have previously treated cases such as: pumping water into the anus for constipation relief or rinsing the rectum with foreign substances (typically coffee grounds) for detoxification purposes.
These patients were admitted in serious conditions, including rectal perforation, cecal rupture, severe abdominal infections, and even death.
For example, a 66-year-old female patient admitted about a month prior. Due to constipation, the patient self-administered water into her anus, causing a cecal rupture.
Despite emergency surgery, the patient did not survive, as the accumulated fecal matter from several days flowed into the abdominal cavity, leading to severe septic shock and intoxication.
“People must absolutely not self-administer any solutions or gases (especially using high-pressure machines to pump) into the anus to treat constipation, detoxify, for pranks, or for any other purpose, as it carries a very dangerous risk of colon rupture,” Dr. Huy advised.
