Bowel Resection Procedure Causes Abdominal Compartment Syndrome

Case Overview

This OR operations case involves a fifty-eight-year-old female patient who presented to the ER complaining of multiple episodes of daily, non-bilious, non-bloody vomiting, along with generalized abdominal pain. The patient was diagnosed with an intestinal obstruction and was taken to the operating room, where a sigmoidal mass was identified to be obstructing the entire lumen of the bowel. A hemicolectomy with colostomy and mobilization of hepatic flexure was performed. One week after surgery, the patient developed abdominal compartment syndrome and was brought back to the operating room for exploration. The patient sustained a cardiac event on the operating table and CPR was conducted. The patient remained ventilator dependent secondary to respiratory failure, along with acute renal failure that necessitated peritoneal dialysis. The patient never regained consciousness following the exploratory abdominal procedure and the family decided to withdraw supportive care after two weeks.