Small bowel perforation caused by metastasis from an extra-abdominal malignancy: report of three cases

Small bowel perforation is rarely caused by metastasis from an extra-abdominal malignancy. This report describes three cases of small bowel perforation that occurred secondary to a metastatic tumor. The first case involved a 72-year-old man with malignant lymphoma of the larynx that had been treated with chemo- and radiation therapy; the second involved a 70-year-old man with rhabdomyosarcoma of the mediastinum that had been treated with radiation therapy; and the third involved a 41-year-old man with lung carcinoma that had been treated with surgery 10 months prior to perforation. Each patient presented with acute abdominal pain, had X-ray findings of free air in the abdomen, and underwent limited emergency surgery. Wedge resection and closure of the ileum was performed for the first patient and partial bowel resection with the creation of an intestinal stoma was performed for the second and third patients. In each case, the histologic findings of the resected specimens were consistent with the extra-abdominal primary tumors. Although the patients recovered sufficiently to begin eating and moving about, all three died of cancer or cancer-related complications within 45 days of surgery. We conclude that surgeons should be aware of the poor prognosis of such patients and perform only the minimal surgery required.