Pneumatosis intestinalis presenting as a partial small bowel obstruction

An 88-year-old man presented to casualty with severe abdominal pain and vomiting. Chest x-ray was suspicious for free intraperitoneal air. Abdominal x-ray was in keeping with small bowel obstruction. CT also suggested free intraperitoneal gas and the patient proceeded to laparotomy (figure 1). Figure 1 Transverse plane CT scan of the abdomen showing bubbles of air within the bowel wall. Intraoperatively, …