Bowel Perforation Due To Crohns Disease
If your bowel has perforated due to Crohn's disease, is there a case of medical negligence? In this article we explore bowel perforation in more detail.
Perforated bowel because of Crohn's disease
A perforated bowel is when a hole develops in the wall of the bowel. This can happen for a number of reasons, including inflammatory bowel conditions such as Crohn's disease.
Crohn's disease may result in a perforated bowel if there is a narrowing (stricture) of the terminal ileum (the end of the small intestine). This can obstruct the passing of waste products, leading to a build-up of faeces in the intestine. This will press against the wall of the intestine until the pressure becomes so great that a hole develops, leaving a patient with a perforated bowel.
Does this amount to negligence?
A perforated bowel is a known complication of Crohn's disease and the incident in itself does not amount to negligence.
However, there may be a case of negligence if a patient's condition is poorly managed by medical professionals, causing unnecessary complications to occur.
For example, if a patient has symptoms consistent with bowel obstruction due to a stricture in the terminal ileum, a suitable course of treatment must be considered.
There is a body of surgical opinion that says that medical management has no place in the treatment of terminal ileum stricture in Crohn's disease; instead such a disease should be subject to surgical resection. This is an extreme view and it may be reasonable to attempt to treat the problem without surgery, just as long as a patient's condition is not severe.
But if a patient becomes increasingly symptomatic, or has a prolonged history of symptoms at the time of presentation, he/she should be referred immediately for a surgical review. If subacute obstruction is found, a reasonable surgeon should recommend elective surgery to remove the diseased bowel and perform a primary anastomosis. This will ensure unnecessary complications do not arise.
Failure to prevent a perforated bowel
If medical professionals fail to provide an acceptable standard of care, a patient with a stricture of the terminal ileum may go on to suffer a perforated bowel, peritonitis and even multi-organ failure. If such complications occur because doctors failed to diagnose and treat the obstruction in the bowel properly, there may be grounds for a medical negligence compensation claim.
To find out more about claiming compensation for a perforated bowel, please get in touch with us today.
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