03/06/2026
From Ulcer Surgery to ‘Internal Poisoning’: How Doctors Rebuilt a Mizoram Man’s Digestive System in a Six-Hour Life-Saving Operation
A man from Mizoram who was slowly “starving while eating” has survived a rare and life-threatening digestive disorder after doctors performed a massive six-hour reconstructive surgery that effectively rebuilt large parts of his stomach and intestines.
The patient had first reached doctors with deep venous thrombosis, or DVT — a dangerous condition in which blood clots form inside deep veins, usually in the legs. To stop the clot from travelling to the lungs, surgeons inserted an inferior vena cava (IVC) filter, a tiny metal device placed inside a major vein to trap clots before they become fatal.
But doctors soon discovered a far more alarming problem.
The man had been suffering from severe diarrhoea, extreme weakness, and dangerously low albumin levels— a condition that signals severe protein loss and malnutrition. Albumin is an important blood protein that helps the body heal, maintain muscles, and keep fluids balanced. When albumin levels crash, the body begins to weaken rapidly.
Further investigation revealed a medical complication so rare that many younger surgeons may never encounter it in their careers.
Nearly 40 years ago, the patient had undergone a gastrojejunostomy bypass surgery for a stomach ulcer, a procedure that was more common before modern ulcer medicines became widely available. Over time, doctors found, an abnormal tunnel had silently formed between his stomach, small intestine and large intestine – a rare condition known as gastro-jejuno-colic fistula.
In simple terms, the body’s digestive “pipes” had become dangerously cross-connected.
Instead of food moving normally through the digestive tract, bacteria and waste material from the colon were leaking backwards into the stomach. Doctors reported that this contamination was poisoning the digestive system from within and hindering the absorption of proper nutrition.
“The patient was extremely malnourished, and his body condition was very poor when he arrived,” Dr Sanjoy Mandal, who led a team of multidisciplinary medics for the surgery, said.
Because immediate major surgery carried high risk, doctors first created an ileostomy — a temporary diversion route that redirected stool outside the body into a collection bag. The move stopped bacterial contamination of the stomach and gave the digestive system time to recover. Over the next two to three months, the patient’s nutrition gradually improved.
Only then did surgeons proceed with the definitive operation.
During the marathon six-hour procedure, doctors removed part of the stomach and sections of the small and large intestine and also removed the patient’s gallbladder because of an associated gallstone. The digestive tract was then completely reconstructed.
Despite the scale of the surgery, the patient recovered steadily and was discharged from hospital in stable condition within six days.
Dr Mandal says that such rare fistulas are now uncommon because powerful medicines can treat most ulcers early, reducing the need for older bypass surgeries. However, the case highlights how complications from decades-old operations can remain hidden for years before suddenly turning life-threatening.
He further said that the case also emphasises the importance of long-term follow-up after major stomach surgery, especially when unexplained weight loss, chronic diarrhoea or severe malnutrition develop later in life- Drug Today/Medical Times (Mr Rajeev Choudhury) See less
