[Ditto]

He was stricken with an acute (or distended) abdomen--a swelling of the stomach that is easily diagnosed and treated

Any MDs out there who can tell us what this is? Ruptured bowel? Infection? Reaction to medications?

My abdomen is "distended" every Thanksgiving Day but I never considered it life threatening.

[SunnyUsa]

He was stricken with an acute (or distended) abdomen--a swelling of the stomach that is easily diagnosed and treated. But it was never treated by anyone at the hospital

The above is a ridiculous vague clinical statement - what was the cause of his distended abdomen? Hemmorhage? Ascites? Liver Failure? Cancer? Constipation?

To make a leap like this "medical terrorism" is irresponsible.

[Polybius]

"He was stricken with an acute (or distended) abdomen--a swelling of the stomach that is easily diagnosed and treated"

Any MDs out there who can tell us what this is? Ruptured bowel? Infection? Reaction to medications? My abdomen is "distended" every Thanksgiving Day but I never considered it life threatening.

"Acute Abdomen", which is NOT synonymous with "distended abdomen" simply means "Hey! There is something acutely wrong with this guy's belly".

It can be caused by anything from appendicitis to a dissecting aortic aneurysm to a bowel obstruction to a massive bowel infarction and may or may not be "easily treated" or capable of being treated at all.

"Distended Abdomen" means "Hey! That guy's belly sure sticks out" and can be caused by anything from a bowel obstruction to, as we sometimes call it, "Chronic Pizza Poisoning".

The sloppy use of terms in the article and the claims that "acute abdomen" is "easily treated" and the fact that the "son who is a lawyer" has my red flags flying.

Sometimes, with an elderly patient, who is not a surgical candidate with a surgical condition, all you can do is make them as comfortable as possible with morphine and let Nature take it's course.