Stercoral perforation of the colon in a heroin addict

Abstract

Background and aims: Stercoral perforation of the colon is rare. Narcotics are well known to produce chronic constipation resulting in stercoral perforation, however, only one case of a heroin addict developing stercoral perforation has been reported.

Patients and methods: We present a case of a 67 year-old man with chronic heroin use and stercoral perforation requiring sigmoidectomy and Hartmann's procedure. Computed tomography was performed prior to exploration.

Results: This is the first case of computed tomography findings, prior to laparotomy, that have been published for stercoral perforation.