Delayed Mid-Ileal Perforation Secondary to Acute-on-Chronic Ischaemia after a Diagnostic Colonoscopy

Abstract

Perforation occurring at a remote site of the bowel after diagnostic colonoscopy is rare. A 61-year-old man presenting with bloody diarrhoea underwent colonoscopy. A dynamic ileus developed in less than 1 day, and mid-ileal perforation occurred 7 days after the procedure. It is suggested that high air pressure during colonoscopy further compromised the reduced blood flow in the mid-ileum, which had underlying chronic ischaemia, leading to perforation. Our patient constitutes the first reported case of small-bowel perforation after colonoscopy due to pre-existent ileal ischaemia.