Khan Muhammad, Ijaz Muhammad, Bukhari Sumera, Dirweesh Ahmed, Christmas Donald
Department of Internal Medicine, Saint Francis Medical Center, Seton Hall University, Trenton, NJ, USA.
Gastroenterology Res. 2017 Apr;10(2):135-137. doi: 10.14740/gr797w. Epub 2017 Apr 19.
Colonoscopy is performed for both diagnostic and therapeutic indications. Although rare, associated complications can be quite serious. The frequency of these complications depends mainly on the skills of the physicians doing the procedure, and the diagnostic or therapeutic indications. Major complications include adverse anesthetic related events, aspiration pneumonia, bleeding, and colonic perforation. We present a rare case of a post-colonoscopy perforation presenting with subcutaneous emphysema and free mediastinal, and intra-peritoneal air. The patient was successfully managed conservatively with complete resolution of symptoms.