STERCORAL PERFORATION OF THE SIGMOID COLON: A CASE REPORT

Stercoral perforation is a very dangerous, life-threatening situation that has a high mortality rate, and usually is diagnosed only during exploratory laparotomy. Stercoral perforation, in more than 90% of cases involves the sigmoid colon, resulting from ischemic pressure necrosis of the bowel wall, caused by fecalomas. The exact mechanism that causes fecalomas to form has yet to be defined clearly, but many factors such as a history of constipation, are thought to contribute. I report a rare case of stercoral perforation of sigmoid colon on a 86-year-old man who had been bed ridden because he was paraplegic due to CVA.