A Case of Successful Percutaneous Drainage of a Pelvic Abscess Complicating Colonoscopy

ABSTRACT

Perforations that occur during colonoscopy are usually managed by surgical repair. When the patient's symptoms are mild and laboratory findings show minor abnormalities, a conservative treatment can be considered. Although an operation is the treatment of choice in patients with generalized peritonitis, in some selected patients, percutaneous abscess drainage can be an alternative to surgical intervention for drainage of deep-infected fluid collections or can act as a temporary measure until the patient becomes sufficiently stable for surgery. We report here on a 53-yr-old male patient who developed signs of localized peritonitis and had a pelvic abscess due to a colonic perforation after colonoscopy and was treated successfully by using percutaneous abscess drainage.