Stercoral perforation

Stercoral perforation is the perforation or rupture of the intestine's walls by its internal contents, such as foreign objects, or, more commonly, by hardened feces (fecalomas) which may form in long constipations or other diseases which cause obstruction of transit, such as Chagas disease, Hirschprung's disease, toxic colitis and megacolon.

Axial CT cine clip showing loculated fluid, free intraperitoneal fluid, extraluminal gas, and focal discontinuity of the wall of the sigmoid colon with stool in the defect consistent with stercoral perforation. The patient was a heavy Vicodin user

Stercoral perforation is a very dangerous, life-threatening situation, as well as a surgical emergency, because the spillage of contaminated intestinal contents into the abdominal cavity leads to peritonitis, a rapid bacteremia (bacterial infection of the blood), with many complications.

See also

• Gastrointestinal perforation
• Stercoral ulcer, which can lead to stercoral perforation