A 63-year-old Florida man faced a medical emergency when part of his intestine came out of a surgical wound due to a forceful sneeze.

This unusual case is detailed in the American Journal of Medical Case Reports.

Unknown to the researchers, the man had a history of prostate cancer and had undergone a cystectomy (a procedure to remove the bladder) 15 days before the incident.

He was healing well and doctors were allowed to remove staples from his abdominal wound.

To celebrate his progress, the man and his wife went out for breakfast. During the meal, he had a loud sneeze, followed by a cough. He immediately felt wetness and pain in his lower abdomen.

He was shocked to see that several parts of his intestines were protruding out from the surgery site.

Panicked, she covered the bump with her shirt. She was afraid that moving might make the condition worse, so she decided to call an ambulance rather than go to the hospital herself.

Paramedics arrived immediately, covered the wound with a pad, administered painkillers and then rushed him to a nearby hospital.

At the hospital, doctors found his vital signs were normal. Three urologic surgeons then carefully placed the protruding intestines back into the abdominal cavity and examined the small intestine for any injuries, but none were found.

“Although wound dehiscence is a known complication, protrusion of internal organs from the abdominal surgical site after cystectomy is not well described,” the journal article states.

Dehiscence is the partial or complete separation of the approximate edges of a wound, caused by failure of proper wound healing.

This incident highlights the need for careful postoperative care and the importance of closely monitoring wound healing.

The researchers highlighted that this incident reminds us of the potential complications that can arise from even small actions such as sneezing.

Bowel prolapse is a rare complication of abdominal surgery. This case report describes small bowel prolapse after sneezing and coughing following healing of a cystectomy surgical site.