EXPLORATORY LAPAROSCOPY FOR PERFORATION FOLLOWING COLONOSCOPY

Colonoscopy is being increasingly used for the diagnosis and therapy o f colonic diseases. Bleeding and perforation are two major complicatio ns. The management of patients with perforation is undergoing evolutio n. There is evidence to support conservative management in selected pa tients with perforation without clinical signs of peritonitis. There i s, however, a subset of patients with perforation where a considerable doubt exists about the choice between surgical and conservative manag ement. We report one such patient, a 50-year-old woman with free air u nder the diaphragm and peritoneal signs following a therapeutic colono scopy in whom an exploratory laparoscopy was performed. Exploratory la paroscopy is proposed for such patients when there is a question in ch oosing between surgical and conservative management.