Abstract
Pneumatosis intestinalis is a rare condition characterized by the presence of gas within the wall of the gastrointestinal tract, and can be life threatening in some cases. The patient was a 72-year-old male who visited our clinic with a chief complaint of left cheek pain. He was diagnosed as left maxillary carcinoma and we performed surgical therapy. On the eleventh postoperative day, he developed diarrhea, acute renal failure and a marked inflammatory response. Abdominal CT revealed pneumatosis intestinalis and hepatic portal venous gas, so conservative treatment was started. The treatment was successful and he became capable of oral ingestion 12 days after the initiation of treatment. The symptoms did not recur afterwards and he left our hospital 48 days after the operation. Although the prevalence of postoperative pneumatosis intestinalis is not high, it should be considered as a possible complication.
