Endoscopic tattooing of colorectal lesions: Is it a risk-free procedure?

Mesenteric air embolism following enteroscopic small bowel tattooing procedure

Double balloon enteroscopy (DBE) is a revolutionary procedure in which the entire small bowel can be visualized endoscopically. DBE has the advantage of both diagnostic and therapeutic capabilities in the setting of small bowel neoplasms and vascular malformations. We present a unique case of a 76-year-old female who underwent small bowel DBE tattoo marking of a distal small bowel tumor complicated by development of severe abdominal pain postprocedure secondary to bowel air embolism into the mesenteric veins. Mesenteric air can be seen after other endoscopic procedures such as biopsy, mucosal clip placement and polypectomy, or following a colonoscopy. Mesenteric air embolism following small bowel tattooing procedure has not been previously reported in the literature. Mesenteric air when present may be attributed to mesenteric ischemia and can subject the patient to unnecessary surgical intervention if misdiagnosed. Thus, this report holds significance for the radiologist as computed tomography (CT) findings of mesenteric air embolism must be evaluated in the context of appropriate clinical history before treatment decisions are made.