Man’s Rectal Prolapse Exacerbated After Playing Phone Games On Toilet

A man hailing from the southeast of China had to be transported to the hospital. His rectum had fallen out of his body. This occurred in the middle of the night at his home.

The man, his identity unknown, told the doctor attending to him that he had been sitting on his toilet for a half hour while trying to defecate. He was looking at his phone while he did so.
The doctor who examined the man noticed an enormous lump, which measured over 16 inches (or roughly 16 centimeters). It was sticking out of the man’s anus and actually had to be removed via surgery.

This strange and very unfortunate incident reportedly occurred on February 4th in the Guangdong Province, in Zhongshan.

Dr. Su Dan stated that the man had been diagnosed with what is known as a rectal prolapse. In cases of rectal prolapse, the end of the intestines becomes unattached to the rest of the body and falls out.

The doctor also said that the man’s case was particularly serious. The man had been experiencing the rectal prolapse since he was only four years of age. The bulge happened to be able to retract, but the situation got worse because the condition was never properly treated.

Medical scans demonstrated a bulge—described as “ball shaped”—emerging from the man’s anus. There were also blood spots as well as bruises along the patient’s intestinal wall.
Fortunately, the lump was able to be removed by surgeons—the patient is alive and recovering.

The doctor said that the likely cause of the prolapse is the patient’s decision to sit on the toilet for a long period of time. Doing so while trying to poop actually weakens the muscles of the pelvis.
There are actually several types of rectal prolapse—maybe as many as five. It all depends on if the prolapsed part is actually visible externally and the thickness of the rectal wall involved.

Cases of rectal prolapse are typically more common in elderly women, but any age or sex can be impacted. While it is rarely deadly, the symptoms can be awful and debilitating if they are not properly treated. Treatment of an external prolapse typically involves a surgical procedure. Internal ones are more difficult to treat, and surgery may not always be the best option in such cases.

Symptoms of rectal prolapse include mucus that comes from the anus, fecal incontinence, constipation, bleeding from the rectum—and the condition may seem similar to obstructed defecation.

Most patients who have a rectal prolapse situation have had a long history of constipation. Excessive and repetitive straining my predispose one to the condition.

Rectal prolapse is considered an uncommon condition; however, considering most people who suffer from it are elderly, it may end being unreported—and therefore far more common than we think.

As we’ve mentioned, while more common in the elderly, rectal prolapse can occur in any age group—even in small children. Women who are over 50 years of age are actually six times more likely than men to develop a rectal prolapse.

There is no known specific cause of rectal prolapse, but it is associated with pregnancy, COPD, cystic fibrosis, and gynecological surgeries.

As in the case of the man described above, surgery is often required to treat rectal prolapse. However, if a patient can’t undergo surgery for one reason or another, there are conservative measures that can be attempted. Such measures include an adjustment to the patient’s diet—such as including the amount of fiber in the patient’s diet. Stool softeners might also help, as they reduce constipation.
The surgery generally believed needed to cure the condition definitely carries risks. For example, when done abdominally, impotence may result. The risk is not high, but it is definitely something to consider.

If there is a lesson to be learned from this story, it is that you should only spend a minimal amount of time sitting on the toilet. While it may seem like a great place to read a magazine or look at your phone, the unnamed Chinese man has taught us there are probably wiser places to contemplate the mysteries of life and/or enjoy a bit of light reading.

Personally, I’ve been reminded that I should never ever even consider touching another person’s phone.

H/T – Source