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Small bowel perforation after radiotherapy for
cervical carcinoma
CP Cheung, HS Chiu, CH Chung
Accident and Emergency Department, North District Hospital, 9 Po
Kin Road, Sheung Shui, Hong Kong
Radiotherapy is the treatment of choice for carcinoma
of the uterine cervix. We report on a 62-year-old Chinese woman
with cervical carcinoma, in whom a small bowel perforation developed
5 months after radiotherapy. Ten centimetres of small bowel, including
the perforation site, were resected. No bowel adhesion was detected
during the operation. The postoperative course was uneventful, and
the patient was discharged home 7 days after surgery. Histological
examination confirmed post-irradiation injury. The presenting complaints
of patients with bowel perforation following radiotherapy vary,
and signs of peritonitis may be absent. Emergency physicians must
be alert for these complications in patients who have been treated
with radiotherapy.
Hong Kong Med J 2003;9:461-3
Key words: Cervix neoplasms; Intestinal perforation;
Peritonitis; Radiotherapy
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