2016 Volume 36 Issue 3 Pages 589-592
A 79-year-old man developed sigmoid volvulus a total of seven times during a two-year period since his first visit to our hospital. Though the patient had undergone endoscopic reduction after each onset, for the present visit he was to undergo a radical sigmoid colectomy. Because of marked elevation of the left diaphragm, we suspected a complication with diaphragmatic relaxation or a diaphragmatic hernia. The operative findings showed expansion of the sigmoid colon, and relaxation of the left diaphragm had occurred. We performed a laparoscopy-assisted sigmoid colectomy. Presently, one year after surgery, no relapse has been confirmed. In diaphragmatic relaxation, abdominal organs are easily raised to the area just below the diaphragm, possibly causing onset of volvulus of the sigmoid colon. To our knowledge, sigmoid volvulus with diaphragmatic relaxation has so far been reported in only one case in Japan.
