Inadvertent tear or dehiscence within a flap created during surgery, either by overthinning the mucosa, improper blade direction while making periosteal releasing incisions, or excessive flap retraction.
The act of boring or piercing through a part.
A hole made through a part or substance.
The act of piercing through.
A hole through the whole thickness of a tissue or membrane such as the intestine or eardrum.
Rupture, either of a solid organ (e.g., spleen) or of a hollow viscus (e.g., duodenum).
An abnormal hole in an organ or tissue caused by disease or injury. A perforation usually produces sudden and severe pain, inflammation, and possible shock. Although perforation can occur anywhere, it is most common in the stomach, duodenum, sigmoid colon (the final part of the colon that connects with the rectum), or the appendix. In the case of intestinal perforation, which is life- threatening, doctors treat the shock, administer antibiotics, and insert a tube to remove gas and fluid. Surgery is usually required to repair a perforation. The surgeon usually removes the affected area of the intestine, reattaches the remaining parts of the intestine, and performs a temporary colostomy (a surgically created opening or stoma in the abdominal wall for stool to pass through into a bag).
The creation of a hole in an organ, tissue, or tube. This may occur in the course of a disease (e.g. a duodenal ulcer, colonic diverticulitis, or bowel or stomach cancer), allowing the contents of the intestine to enter the peritoneal cavity, which causes acute inflammation (peritonitis) with sudden severe abdominal pain and shock. Treatment is usually by surgical repair of the perforation, but conservative treatment with antibiotics, bed rest, nasogastric suction decompression, and intravenous fluids may result in spontaneous healing. Perforation may also be caused accidentally by instruments, for example a gastroscope may perforate the stomach, a curette may perforate the womb; or by injury, for example to the eardrum.
The perforation of one of the hollow organs of the abdomen or major blood vessels may occur spontaneously in the case of an ulcer or an advanced tumour, or may be secondary to trauma such as a knife wound or penetrating injury from a traffic or industrial accident. Whatever the cause, perforation is a surgical emergency. The intestinal contents, which contain large numbers of bacteria, pass freely out into the abdominal cavity and cause a severe chemical or bacterial peritonitis. This is usually accompanied by severe abdominal pain, collapse or even death. There may also be evidence of free fluid or gas within the abdominal cavity. Surgical intervention, to repair the leak and wash out the contamination, is often necessary. Perforation or rupture of major blood vessels, whether from disease or injury, is an acute emergency for which urgent surgical repair is usually necessary. Perforation of hollow structures elsewhere than in the abdomen for example, the heart or oesophagus may be caused by congenital weaknesses, disease or injury. Treatment is usually surgical but depends on the cause.
The act or process of making a hole, such as that caused by ulceration.