[Pneumatosis intestinalis mimicking free intraabdominal air: a case report].

A 47-year-old male patient had undergone endoscopic balloon dilatation six times due to pyloric stenosis however the result was not satisfying. Surgical treatment was considered. Chest X-ray revealed free sub-diaphragmatic air but there were no acute abdomen signs clinically. In abdominal computerized tomography, there were small intestinal loops anterior to the liver and there was gas collection, which can not be differentiated exactly between an extraluminal free air and the one in the bowel wall of adjacent small bowel segments. In the emergency surgery cysts filled with gas in the wall of distal ileal segments were seen. Pneumatosis intestinalis should be kept in mind in the differential diagnosis of free intraabdominal air.