A Case of Prolapse of the Intestine Caused by a Stingray Injury

Moto Kashiwabara, Takashi Tajiri**, Yoshiharu Nakamura, Masao Miyashita**, Eiji Uchida** and Gengo Kasai*

Department of Surgery, Hasaki Saisei Hospital
Department of Internal Medicine, Hasaki Saisei Hospital*
"Surgery for Organ Function and Biological Regulation"
Nippon Medical School, Graduate School of Medicine**

Stingray wounds cause striking local trauma and inflammation due to venom and the sharp dorsal spines. We report a rare case of intestinal prolapse from a stingray wound. A 39-year-old man injured inguinal by a huge stingray while working on a fishing boat arrived by ambulance about 4 hours after injury. On arrival, the small intestine prolapsed from the inguinal wound, necessitating emergency surgery in which the prolapsed intestine was returned to the abdominal cavity. We debrided and irrigated the wound using saline heated to over 40°C because stingray venom contains a toxic protein that is broken down thermally. We attribute the patient's thankfully uneventful recovery to this combined treatment.

Key words
stingray, intestinal prolapse, venomous spine

Reprint requests
Moto Kashiwabara "Surgery for Organ Function and Biological Regulation" Nippon Medical School, Graduate School of Medicine
1-1-5 Sendagi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8603, JAPAN

Accepted
September 24, 2003

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