Taking stomach pain lightly, many people have to go to the hospital for emergency surgery

Subjective

Meeting us again when preparing to be discharged from the hospital, Ms. D.TAT (19 years old, in Quang Phuc commune, Tu Ky district) was very happy. Ms. T. was admitted to the hospital on February 17, with symptoms of abdominal distension and long-term tension. Initially, she felt mild distension in the right subcostal region, then distension throughout the abdomen, no vomiting, no fever, normal urination and defecation. After examination, the doctors diagnosed a benign giant fat mass behind the peritoneum.

On February 22, Ms. T. underwent surgery to remove the lipoma. After more than 3 hours of surgery, the tumor was removed, the patient did not lose blood and all other organs were completely preserved. The tumor was 25 x 34 cm in size, weighed 3,950 g, and histologically was a benign lipoma. After 3 days of surgery, Ms. T. was able to eat and drink, no longer had pain, and was able to walk and do normal activities.

Ms. T. shared that because she thought she was fat, the initial symptoms were fleeting, so she didn't pay attention. "This is also an expensive lesson for myself. I will not be subjective when my body shows unusual signs. After this period, I will have a regular health check-up every 6 months," Ms. T. said.

At the emergency room of Department of Surgery 3, the Provincial General Hospital is also treating many patients with acute appendicitis that has ruptured.

One of them is Mr. NVTh., 63 years old, in Hiep An ward, Kinh Mon town. His stomach pain has subsided after emergency surgery to remove his appendix. Mr. Th. said that at noon on February 25, he had a slight stomach ache, and at 4 pm, the pain got worse. Thinking that he had a relapse of his stomach disease, Mr. Th. treated himself.

On February 26, Mr. Th. had more severe abdominal pain and was admitted to the Department of Surgery 3. After examination, the doctors requested emergency surgery due to appendicitis peritonitis. After surgery, Mr. Th. had to have a drainage tube inserted to remove fluid from the abdomen. In cases like Mr. Th., he would have to stay in hospital for a long time and use a lot of antibiotics to avoid post-operative infection.

Many patients come late

According to statistics from Department of Surgery 3, Provincial General Hospital, in 2024, the department performed surgery and procedures on nearly 14,000 patients. After Tet At Ty, the number of patients admitted to the department for surgery and treatment increased. There were 1,468 patients admitted to the treatment department, of which 732 were operated on; the department performed over 3,200 procedures, an increase of nearly 20% compared to the same period last year. Emergency surgery cases due to perforation of the stomach, duodenum, peritonitis, appendicitis, ruptured appendix... There was a peak day when doctors from Department of Surgery 3 performed emergency surgery on up to 18 patients, of which 4 patients were subjective when they had abdominal pain and came in with the disease detected late. Regarding perforated gastric ulcers, the majority of patients were male, the cause was due to diet and excessive alcohol abuse.

The department also receives rare cases related to abnormal abdominal tumors. Specialist II Dr. Tran Van Vinh, Deputy Head of Department of Surgery 3, recommends that people should have regular check-ups every 6 months at licensed medical facilities with full diagnostic and interventional equipment. Abdominal pain is common and prolonged, people cannot subjectively treat it at home to avoid dangerous complications.