THERAPEUTIC FISTULOSCOPY FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF PROLONGED POSTOPERATIVE INTRA-ABDOMINAL ABSCESS CAUSED BY SMALL INTESTINAL PINHOLE PERFORATION

Abstract

Fistuloscopy is an effective treatment for intractable fistula, a sometimes difficult to manage postoperative intra-abdominal complication. A case of a 69-year-old male with an abdominal abscess after he underwent right hemi-colectomy for cecum cancer with invasions into the ileum and sigmoid colon is reported. A re-operation for lavage and drainage was performed 2 weeks after surgery. However, no obvious origin for the pus was located. Although physiological saline lavage was repeatedly performed, the effusion of pus persisted in the drain at the midline incision about 7 months after surgery. Then, fistuloscopy with an upper gastrointestinal endoscope was performed through the hole of the tube. A pinhole that produced a bubble just below the midline incision was observed. Then, an endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) tube was inserted to obtain images of the small intestine by fluorography and findings suggested a diagnosis of perforation of the small intestine, which appeared to explain why resolution of the abscess was prolonged. After direct drainage to the small intestine with a 40-cm-long 7 Fr percutaneous transhepatic cholangio drainage (PTCD) balloon catheter, pus from the tube notably decreased. After confirming that the abscess cavity had disappeared by abdominal computed tomography scan, the PTCD catheter was extracted about 8 months after primary surgery. Since then, no recurrence of cancer or abscess has been observed. In cases of intractable postoperative intra-abdominal abscess, fistuloscopy using smaller diameter gastrointestinal endoscopy appears to be a valuable diagnostic tool.