Successfully treated bizarre self-mutilation with disembowelment – Case report with review of literature

Abstract

Self-inflicted abdominal stab wounds are generally uncommon and there is no published report of survivors after extensive self inflicted disembowelment with mutilation. Here we present a case of 28 year old male who was brought to hospital 2 1/2 h after disembowelment through self inflicted abdominal stab injuries. The patient had hypovolemic shock due to bleeding from the mesentery and a 450 cm segment of small bowel which had been pulled out from 2 abdominal stab wounds and slashed multiple times by him. He had alcohol intoxication and hallucinations and did not seem to be in pain or emotionally affected by the severe injury. After resuscitation, and emergency resection with anastomosis he had an uneventful post-operative recovery. On psychiatric evaluation during follow-up, he was found to have schizophrenia aggravated by alcohol abuse and was treated accordingly. As self mutilation can be the first presentation of a psychotic episode, a psychiatric evaluation is necessary for all patients with self inflicted injuries.