Abstract
A 63-year-old man consulted a doctor because of progressive left thigh pain and swelling, and was suspected as having thigh gas gangrene resulting from the penetration of the descending colon. He was transferred to our university hospital for extensive treatments. After admission he underwent an emergency drainage for abscesses from the retroperitoneum to the thigh. After the drainage, his inflammatory responses gradually improved. Subsequent colonoscopy revealed that the descending colon cancer had penetrated into the retroperitoneal space, so that laparoscopic left hemicolectomy was performed for a complete cure. This case showed us the importance of examining the lower gastrointestinal tract when encountering a nontraumatic example of gas gangrene especially in the thigh area. If local drainage could improve the patient's conditions, a highly definitive surgery could be selected, even by laparoscopy, as an alternative procedure to graded operations which are usually done in the acute phase.
