Ruptured splenic abscess presenting as pneumoperitoneum.

Spontaneous pneumoperitoneum follows perforation of hollow viscus; rarely, it may arise from pulmonary interstitial emphysema or intestinal inflammatory disease. We report a 30-year-old man with ruptured splenic abscess who presented with acute abdomen and had pneumoperitoneum. He was treated with splenectomy and is asymptomatic 2 months later.

Modified Partington's procedure for pancreaticojejunostomy in chronic pancreatitis.

BACKGROUND: Various techniques have been described for pancreaticojejunostomy for chronic pancreatitis. We prospectively evaluated a modification of Partington's procedure with Roux-en-Y anastomosis for chronic calculous pancreatitis. METHODS: From 1980 to 1994, 53 patients with chronic calculous pancreatitis (46 men, 7 women; aged 14-70 years, mean 38) underwent surgery by the modified technique and were followed up for 1-14 years. The inclusion criterion for this procedure was pancreatic duct dilated to greater than 7 mm. End-to-side pancreaticojejunostomy was done by fishmouthing the jejunal end to a required length and anastomosing it to the pancreatic duct which is opened along its whole length. The procedure was evaluated in terms of feasibility of anastomosis, time required for surgery, perioperative complications and postoperative results. RESULTS: There were no anastomotic leaks or obstructive bowel symptoms in the immediate postoperative period. Excellent pain relief was seen in 81% of cases, and substantial relief in 12.8%. Average weight gain in the postoperative period was 4.2 Kg. Endoscopic retrograde pancreatography six months after surgery showed patency of anastomosis with free flow of dye into the jejunal loop across the anastomosis. CONCLUSION: The modified Partington's procedure is easy to perform and functions well without any complications. Pain is relieved successfully in a majority of cases.

Adult Hirschsprung's disease.

Hirschsprung's disease in adulthood is a rare entity. We report Hirschsprung's disease in a 35-year-old woman who had absence of anorectal inhibitory reflex on manometric studies.

Non-specific granulomatous inflammatory lesions of small bowel.

The entity of nonspecific granulomatous inflammatory lesions(NSGIL) of the small bowel is a diagnostic and therapeutic dilemma. Data of 52 histopathologically proven cases of NSGIL seen by us between 1986 and 1991 were analysed. All these patients presented with either intestinal obstruction or perforation. They were thoroughly evaluated and investigated for tuberculosis. Of the 52 patients, 6 patients received antitubercular therapy (ATT) before and after surgery and 32 patients only after surgery. Fourteen patients did not receive ATT. Surgical procedures undertaken included stricturoplasty, resection/anastomosis and simple suturing of perforation. No complications were seen in patients who received ATT; however, six of 14 patients who did not receive ATT developed wound sepsis and 2 developed partial wound dehiscence. Many of these NSGIL lesions could be tuberculous in etiology though typical caseating granulomas were not seen.