Florida man’s colon EXPLODES after coughing and sneezing at the same time in a diner – causing his intestines to fall out of his body

A man was having breakfast with his wife when he suffered a strange injury from coughing and sneezing at the same time.

The Florida resident’s colon exploded, causing his intestines to fall out of his body.

The 63-year-old noticed a ‘wet’ feeling, followed by sharp pain. When he lifted his shirt, he saw several inches of intestine protruding from his surgical wound.

He had recently undergone abdominal surgery, but doctors insisted on his incision earlier that day was ‘healed well’.

His wife called an ambulance and upon arrival, paramedics said they saw a three-inch opening with “large amounts of intestine” protruding through.

A Florida man’s colon exploded after he coughed and sneezed at the same time (stock image)

He was immediately rushed to hospital, where surgeons were able to successfully return his intestine to his abdomen.

After six days of recovery in the hospital, the man was sent home and experienced no further complications.

Are case is detailed in American Journal of Medical Case Reports.

Also called evisceration, this rare but serious complication of surgery occurs when a patient’s internal organs protrude through an incision due to wound dehiscence, the reopening of a surgical site.

a study found wound dehiscence – the reopening of a surgical site – is estimated to occur in up to three in 100 people who have undergone abdominal and pelvic surgery, but may occur in up to 10 percent of older patients.

It can be fatal for four in ten patients due to excessive blood loss, prolonged severe pain or injury to the exposed organs.

Experts, including those in the case report, cite coughing as a prominent risk factor for the complication, and the report’s authors concluded, “Coughing was likely the cause in our case.”

The left illustration is from the patient’s case report and shows the man’s intestines protruding through the wound in his abdomen. The right illustration shows the man’s incision after doctors repaired his intestines

When this does happen, it must be treated with surgery to replace organs in the abdomen and close the open wound.

Sterile saline solution should also be applied over the intestines to keep the exposed organs moist until surgery can be performed.

Two weeks before the incident, the Florida man underwent surgery due to complications from a previous battle with prostate cancer, including a cystectomy, an operation to remove the bladder.

The operation was successful and the doctors sent the patient home ‘in good condition’.

On the morning of the medical emergency, the man had his wound examined and the stitches removed. He and his wife then went out for breakfast to celebrate his good health.

After noticing that his internal organs were coming out of his abdomen, the man quickly covered the wound with his shirt and allegedly drove to the hospital.

However, he decided not to do this, fearing that it would aggravate the injury. That’s why his wife called 911.

According to the case report, an ambulance arrived four minutes later and while the man’s shirt was soaked with bodily fluid, paramedics noted minimal bleeding.

Having never dealt with such an injury, the case report said the paramedic was “unsure of the best treatment” because routine protocols do not include guidelines for treating viscera.

However, she knew that the intestines needed to be kept moist, so she covered them with saline and wrapped gauze around the man’s abdomen before taking him to the hospital.

Upon arrival, the patient was rushed to the operating room where three doctors examined the intestine, saw no signs of injury and were able to reinsert it into his body.

Doctors discovered that the wound had opened in the center of the incision and closed it in several ways, including figure-8 sutures, one of the most advanced and strongest types of closure, internal and external sutures, and sutures passing through multiple deep layers of penetrated tissue. the abdominal wall.

The patient’s skin was then closed with surgical staples.

Over the next few days the man recovered without further complications and was given a ‘reassuring abdominal examination’.

The doctors deemed him well enough to go home after a week.

The doctors said this case report was “important” because abdominal removal after a cystectomy is poorly documented, with only seven reports of the complication in 2024.