Erosion of a Tenckhoff catheter to the sigmoid colon: an uncommon delayed complication.

Abstract

Continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis is one of the most commonly used therapies for patients with impaired renal function. Most frequent complications directly related to the catheter usually present within the first weeks, and range from catheter dysfunction to dialysis-associated peritonitis; bowel perforation while placing the catheter is uncommon, and it is usually assessed in the same surgical event. There are, however, delayed complications, and one of the least frequently described is erosion of the catheter into the bowel. We present the case of a 65-year-old man, who shows up at the emergency room referring to "acute diarrhea" associated with his dialysis, it is quickly diagnosed as a bowel perforation and underwent emergency surgery. During the operation we found adhesions compromising small bowel and sigmoid colon, the far end of the dialysis catheter inside the sigmoid colon, with no signs of colonic leakage to the peritoneal space. We removed the dialysis catheter, resected the fibrous borders of the site of insertion and performed a primary closure. The patient evolved satisfactorily and was subsequently discharged to continue with hemodialysis for renal substitution therapy.