Massive Retro-Pneumoperitoneum and Lower Limb Subcutaneous Emphysema After Pediatric Heart Transplantation: A Case Report

Transplant Proc. 2015 Sep;47(7):2176-8. doi: 10.1016/j.transproceed.2014.11.076.

Abstract

An emphysema in a lower limb is usually a clinical sign of a severe and life-threatening infection. We report a rare case of subcutaneous emphysema of the left lower limb associated with a massive retro-pneumoperitoneum and pneumatosis intestinalis after cardiac transplantation in a 4-year-old girl. The child was nearly asymptomatic beside an abdominal distension. A benign pneumoperitoneum associated with an extensive pneumatosis intestinalis is a rare complication after organ transplantation and should be treated conservatively. The association with an emphysema in a lower limb in a child has not been previously reported to our knowledge in the literature.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Child, Preschool
  • Female
  • Heart Transplantation / adverse effects*
  • Humans
  • Lower Extremity
  • Pneumatosis Cystoides Intestinalis / etiology*
  • Pneumoperitoneum / etiology*
  • Subcutaneous Emphysema / etiology*