Ulcer complications include bleeding, perforation, and blockage, which can lead to further complications. Surgery may be required, but medications can help. Mouth, diabetic foot, and pressure ulcers also have serious risks, including infection and gangrene.
Complications of ulcers in the stomach and intestinal tract include intestinal bleeding, perforation, or blockage. Each of these problems can lead to further complications. Sometimes ulcer complications require surgery, but in other cases medications may be all that is needed to get the ulcer problems under control. Diabetic foot and mouth ulcers can also lead to serious complications.
Mild to severe internal bleeding can occur if the ulcer damages blood vessels as it eats away at the lining of the stomach or small intestine. The amount of blood depends on the size of the blood vessels that have been damaged. Bleeding may go unnoticed if the damaged blood vessels are small. If bleeding in the digestive tract continues uncontrolled, the patient will likely develop anemia. When damage is done to larger blood vessels, the internal bleeding can be severe and immediate medical attention is usually needed.
Other stomach ulcer complications include perforation and infection. In a perforated ulcer, which affects about 10 percent or less of cancer patients, the ulcer eats through the wall of the stomach or small intestine and allows stomach contents to leak into the abdominal cavity. This can cause an infection known as peritonitis. A person with peritonitis will typically have sudden, sharp pains and need immediate hospitalization and surgery.
Intestinal blockage occurs in 5-8% of people with peptic ulcer complications. If an ulcer is near the duodenum, which connects the stomach to the small intestine, swelling and/or scarring may occur. This leads to an intestinal blockage that prevents stomach contents from moving through the digestive tract. The blockage usually causes the patient to vomit undigested food frequently and causes a feeling of bloating and unexplained weight loss. Immediate hospitalization is likely for intestinal blockage.
Treatment for a blockage in your intestine depends on the results of an endoscopy and what your doctor can see at the site of the blockage. If the blockage is a result of swelling, the patient will usually be given proton pump inhibitors or H2 receptor antagonists to reduce the swelling. As a general rule, surgery is not necessary.
If the blockage is due to scarring, especially severe scarring, the patient will need surgery to remove the scar tissue and avoid further ulcer complications. In mild cases, the surgery can be done through an endoscope inserted down the throat and along the digestive tract. After the scar tissue has been removed, the stomach is reattached to the remaining unhealed small intestine and food can once again flow freely through the digestive tract.
Mouth ulcers, diabetic foot ulcers, and pressure ulcers, also known as pressure sores, are other complications. Mouth ulcers, although rare, put the patient at risk for bacterial infections. Diabetic foot ulcers require thorough cleaning and care and antibiotics to prevent infection and gangrene from developing. If diabetic ulcer treatment doesn’t work, the limb may need to be amputated as a last resort. Immobilized patients can develop pressure sores leading to ulcer complications of infection, gangrene, and a host of other health problems.
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