One of the rare but potentially serious complications of diagnostic peritoneal lavage (DPL) is inadvertent perforation of the bowel. While performing a DPL on a patient with a severe head injury and unstable vital signs, the infusate failed to return. Convinced the catheter was in the peritoneal cavity, gastrograffin was injected through the lavage catheter revealing the tip to be in the bowel lumen. A missed or delayed diagnosis of a bowel perforation is always a potential problem. If the lavage fluid fails to return, water soluble contrast media introduced through the catheter, followed by a single abdominal X-ray can identify the catheter tip placement.