Biomaterial Database

Pneumomediastinum and subcutaneous emphysema caused by sigmoid diverticulum perforation secondary to blunt abdominal trauma: report of a case. 2011

Necdet Fatih Yaşar, and Mahmut Kebapçı, and Enver Ihtiyar

Department of General Surgery, Eskişehir Osmangazi University, Faculty of Medicine, Eskişehir, Turkey. fatih_yasar@yahoo.com

Pneumomediastinum and subcutaneous emphysema are very rare reported signs of colonic perforation most often associated with diverticulitis, toxic megacolon and colonoscopy. We report a case of a 60-year-old man with subcutaneous emphysema and pneumomediastinum, which developed three days after a car accident without pneumothorax. A computed tomography scan demonstrated perforation of a sigmoid diverticulum in conjunction with air. A laparotomy was performed and revealed a perforated sigmoid diverticulum, fistulized into the retroperitoneal cavity. We suspect that this diverticular perforation was caused by the deterioration of the sigmoid mesocolon secondary to the blunt abdominal trauma. To our knowledge, this is the first report in the literature about pneumomediastinum and subcutaneous emphysema caused by sigmoid diverticular rupture following mesosigmoid trauma.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007416	Intestinal Perforation	Opening or penetration through the wall of the INTESTINES.	Intestinal Perforations,Perforation, Intestinal,Perforations, Intestinal
D008297	Male		Males
D008478	Mediastinal Emphysema	Presence of air in the mediastinal tissues due to leakage of air from the tracheobronchial tree, usually as a result of trauma.	Emphysema, Mediastinal,Interstitial Emphysema,Interstitial Emphysema of Lung,Pneumomediastinum,Pulmonary Interstitial Emphysema,Emphysema, Interstitial,Emphysema, Pulmonary Interstitial,Emphysemas, Pulmonary Interstitial,Interstitial Emphysema, Pulmonary,Interstitial Emphysemas, Pulmonary,Lung Interstitial Emphysema,Mediastinal Emphysemas,Pneumomediastinums,Pulmonary Interstitial Emphysemas
D008875	Middle Aged	An adult aged 45 - 64 years.	Middle Age
D004239	Diverticulitis, Colonic	Inflammation of the COLONIC DIVERTICULA, generally with abscess formation and subsequent perforation.	Colonic Diverticulitis
D004241	Diverticulum, Colon	A pouch or sac opening from the COLON.	Colonic Diverticulum,Colon Diverticula,Colonic Diverticula,Diverticula, Colon,Colon Diverticulum,Diverticula, Colonic,Diverticulum, Colonic
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000007	Abdominal Injuries	General or unspecified injuries involving organs in the abdominal cavity.	Injuries, Abdominal,Abdominal Injury,Injury, Abdominal
D000063	Accidents, Traffic	Accidents on streets, roads, and highways involving drivers, passengers, pedestrians, or vehicles. Traffic accidents refer to AUTOMOBILES (passenger cars, buses, and trucks), BICYCLING, and MOTORCYCLES but not OFF-ROAD MOTOR VEHICLES; RAILROADS nor snowmobiles.	Traffic Collisions,Traffic Crashes,Traffic Accidents,Accident, Traffic,Collision, Traffic,Collisions, Traffic,Crashes, Traffic,Traffic Accident,Traffic Collision
D012810	Sigmoid Diseases	Pathological processes in the SIGMOID COLON region of the large intestine (INTESTINE, LARGE).	Sigmoid Colon Diseases,Colon Disease, Sigmoid,Colon Diseases, Sigmoid,Disease, Sigmoid,Disease, Sigmoid Colon,Diseases, Sigmoid,Diseases, Sigmoid Colon,Sigmoid Colon Disease,Sigmoid Disease