A man in Florida had such an epic sneeze that he pushed his intestines outside his body, a vivid scenario that makes the phrase "spilling your guts" horrifically literal.
The 63-year-old man, who just had staples taken out from a surgical incision, was having breakfast with his wife at a diner when he sneezed hard and coughed, according to a study published in the American Journal of Medical Case Reports, which goes into excruciating detail about the gruesome incident.
Immediately upon feeling pain and wetness in his lower abdomen, the man looked down to see "several loops of pink bowel protruding from his recent surgical site."
Despite the shock and horror he may have been experiencing, the man had enough forbearance to cover up his protruding intestines and waived the idea of driving himself to the hospital in case moving around would injure him more.
His wife then called for an ambulance. First responders noted that he had a three-inch "vertical laceration with 'large amounts of bowel' protruding through it," with very little bleeding.
A paramedic covered his exposed bowels with a pad moistened with saline and took him to the hospital, where doctors carefully inserted his intestines back into his body cavity and stapled him back up.
After six days, the patient was able to go home, with doctors deeming him to be in "good condition."
The man previously had prostate cancer, which doctors treated with laparoscopic surgery and then radiation therapy.
Radiation therapy led to complications and required another surgical procedure, this time on his bladder.
Later, 15 days after that procedure, doctors inspected the incision on his lower tummy and found it "well-healed" and then removed the staples, according to the study. To celebrate, the man and his wife went to a diner, where the incident happened.
The medical case study labels his complication with burst guts as an "evisceration," a term that seems to be more commonly used to describe how soldiers disembowel their enemies in the field of battle. But in this case, the man eviscerated himself because he sneezed so hard.
Even though his incisions were considered healed, it seems like his body was still in a delicate place. He should have heeded the common post-abdominal surgery advice to brace his middle if he was going to sneeze or cough.
That's something people should keep in mind after all types of abdominal surgery. Otherwise, you could end up spilling your guts.
More on intestines: The FDA Says Ozempic Might Block Your Intestines
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