Benign pneumoperitoneum: A case report

Abstract

Flexible colonoscopy is the gold standard in diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of colonic pathologies. The acute onset of abdominal pain after colonoscopy may be a clinical sign of colonic perforation. Perforation rate after diagnostic colonoscopies varies between 0.01%-0.4%. If the patient develops signs of peritoneal irritation, the surgical intervention is obligatory. According to the literature, early surgical treatment is the best strategic approach that decreases the morbidity and mortality. Nonoperative treatment could be a choice in selected patients without signs of peritoneal irritation. In large colonoscopy series, only 1-5% of the cases with colonic perforation secondary to the colonoscopy were treated conservatively. We reported a case with colonic perforation after diagnostic colonoscopy which we successfully treated nonoperatively without further need of surgery.