Laparoscopic repair of colonic anastomotic leak in an elderly patient.
BACKGROUND
Laparoscopy to repair iatrogenic colonoscopic perforation of the colon has proven to be a safe, effective, and reproducible means to treat these potentially devastating emergencies. The use of the laparoscope provides exceptional diagnostic yield, and under the hand  of a trained surgeon, produces excellent therapeutic results while minimizing recovery time for the patient.


METHODS
We report the case of an 86-year-old man who underwent emergent laparoscopic repair of a postoperative anastomotic leak following sigmoid colectomy.


RESULTS
The patient underwent laparoscopic oversewing of a colonic anastomotic leak, omental patch, and diverting loop ileostomy. The patient recovered fully from his emergency procedure without any further complications.


CONCLUSIONS
Laparoscopic surgery can be extended to a wider variety  of colorectal emergencies in a carefully selected group of patients, including the elderly.
Department of Surgery, Abington Memorial Hospital, Abington, PA, USA.
Ryan
R
Shadis
D Mark
DM
Zebley
Soo Y
SY
Kim
Mary T
MT
Hofmann
Steven A
SA
Fassler
D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D057868:Anastomotic Leak / Q000601:surgery*; D003082:Colectomy / Q000009:adverse effects*; D012809:Colon, Sigmoid / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D007049:Iatrogenic Disease; D010535:Laparoscopy / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male