Long Segment Colon Degloving From Blunt Abdominal Trauma

Abstract

It is extremely rare for blunt abdominal trauma to result in serious injuries to hollow organs. Degloving injuries of the colon are one of the rarest injuries following blunt abdominal trauma. Intestinal degloving is often seen following rapid deceleration, changes in velocity, crushes and motor vehicle collisions (MVCs). Victims with intestinal degloving injuries can experience vague symptoms despite the severity of the lesion. We present the case of a 21-year-old male with insulin-dependent type 1 diabetes who was involved in a high-speed MVC. He sustained second- and third-degree burns to the extremities, right carotid artery dissection, and multiple fractures to the mandible, pelvis and forearm. Free fluid was also noted in the pelvis prompting an emergent exploratory laparotomy. In the operating room, he was found to have a cecal serosal injury involving more than 50% of the circumference and a sigmoid and descending colon degloving injury of 50 cm. The injured segments were resected, and primary anastomoses were created. Degloving of the colon is extremely rare and the sigmoid is one of the more frequently documented locations of injury. Our case contributes to the limited literature available pertaining to the treatment of evolution of these severe colon injuries.

J Med Cases. 2024;15(4-5):92-96
doi: https://doi.org/10.14740/jmc4205