What Do Abdominal Pain And Bulge Indicate Despite Negative CT Scans?

Posted on Mon, 16 Oct 2017

Question: My husband has been experiencing a lot of pain on the right side of his abdomin. You can visually see a bulge on his right side. He went to his regular physician to have it looked at and they ran a CT scan. The scan did not show anything. The Dr thought he might have some blockage in his upper intestine. He has tried several cleansing products, and does not have any issue using the bathroom. The pain and swelling let up till it was minor pain when he would stand up or lie on his right side for a few days. Now it has returned and is causing very sharp pains, the bulging is very visible. Any suggestions?

Answered by Dr. T Chandrakant (29 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Intestinal obstruction/ hernia...

Detailed Answer:
Hi.
Thanks for your query.
Noted the history about your husband and understood the concerns.
Localized swelling and severe pain on right side is most probably indicative of an intestinal obstruction.
Urgent X-ray of abdomen in standing position can tell a lot of information.
Clinical examination, preferably by a General Surgeon can help pin-point the cause and give the plan of management.
If the swelling and pain are on right lower abdomen an obstructed hernia is a possibility.
If in upper part, colon or small intestine obstruction is a possibility.
Nausea and vomiting occurs fast if the obstruction is in proximal part of small intestine but occurs late if the obstruction is in distal part of small intestine or colon.
X-ray or CT scan show changes only if the bloating is present during investigations hence may need a repeatation when in acute pain and local bloating.
Please get these done asap to get a proper diagnosis so that a proper management can be done.
I hope this answer helps.
Please give feedback and feel free to ask for further relevant queries if you feel that there is a gap of communication.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Vaishalee Punj

Follow up: Dr. T Chandrakant (3 hours later)

Would you recommend going to emergency room, or waiting to get in to see a DR? His regular physician did not seam very helpful, so if he needs to see a specialist, what type would that be, and do you know if Medicare requires a referral?

Answered by Dr. T Chandrakant (2 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Please take him to ER

Detailed Answer:
As mentioned above, he needs to visit ER, emergency room for clinical evaluation and X-ray of abdomen to start with.
General Surgeon or a Gastro-Surgeon would be the best to get a proper diagnosis and a plan for further management.
I hope the ER people would guide you accordingly, for Specialist's opinion and so on.

Note: Revert back with your health reports to get further guidance on your gastric problems. Click here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar