Once this has happened, your child will be allowed to start drinking clear liquids and over time progress to regular foods. Antibiotics and pain medication may be given to your child to prevent infection and control pain.Īs your child gets better, the doctors and nurses will check for return of bowel function. He / she may also have a nasogastric tube (a tube placed through the nose into the stomach) after surgery to keep their stomach empty so that gastric material does not pass through the repaired intestine site and the intestines have time to heal. He / she will have an IV (a small tube in their vein) to receive IV fluid hydration. Your child will not be able to eat or drink for some time after the procedure. Treatment for Intestinal InjuryĪ child with crushed, torn, or punctured intestines may need surgery to fix the injury. X-rays, a computed tomography (CT) scan (more detailed x-ray), blood tests, or even a diagnostic laparoscopy surgical procedure can be done to diagnose an intestinal injury. If an intestinal injury is suspected, the trauma surgery providers will thoroughly and carefully examine your child. Some intestinal injuries do not cause symptoms right away but may develop after many hours or even days. If the material inside the intestine leaks out into the abdomen, it can cause a serious and possibly life-threatening infection. When the intestine is injured, the child may develop stomach pain and a tight, distended belly. Together, the small intestine (20 feet) and large intestine (5 feet) are about 25 feet long. The large intestine is divided up into the ascending colon, transverse colon, descending colon, sigmoid colon and rectum. The small intestine is further divided into the duodenum, jejunum and ileum. The first part is called the small intestine and the last part is the large intestine. The intestine is a long, slender, coiled tube. It starts at the opening of the stomach and ends at the anus or rectum. The third is to help get rid of wastes from the body.The second is to absorb water, electrolytes and nutrients.The first is to digest food that is eaten.Injury to the intestine can happen after a car crash, fall, bike wreck, or any activity that causes a hard blow to the abdomen.Ī penetrating intestinal injury can be caused by a gunshot, knife, or other sharp object that punctures the intestine.
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