2007 Volume 27 Issue 4 Pages 639-643
We report a case of spontaneous rupture of the stomach in an adult. The patient was a 17-year-old male who presented with acute severe abdominal pain after several episodes of vomiting. Radiography and computed tomography of the abdomen showed intraabdominal free gas and massive ascites. We performed urgent surgery under the diagnosis of panperitonitis due to perforation of the upper gastrointestinal tract. Intraoperatively, a perforation measuring 5 cm in diameter was identified in the lesser curvature of the stomach. As the perforation wound appeared reasonably clean, primary closure of the perforation could be performed safely. While in many cases, spontaneous rupture of the stomach is preceded by gastric dilatation, finding was not observed in our case, it was not. Therefore, we concluded that the rupture had probably been caused by hiatal hernia and vomiting.
