Laparoscopic management of a gastric perforation after snare removal of a gastric leiomyoma

A 67-year-old man with a history of myocardial infarction, who had been suffering intermittent epigastric pain and tarry stool for nine months, was referred to our hospital with a suspected gastric tumor. The panendoscopy showed a round, hard submucosal tumor at the greater curvature of the upper gastric body, near the fundus. An ulcer scar was observed on the surface of the tumor. Polypectomy using snare cauterization was carried out. However, severe abdominal pain and abdominal distension developed. A chest radiograph revealed bilateral subphrenic free air. Due to the high risk in this patient, laparoscopic repair of the gastric perforation was carried out using an Endo-GIA instrument. The postoperative course was uneventful. Feeding started on the third postoperative day, and the patient was discharged on the eighth day. A follow-up panendoscopy two months later showed a well-healed scar.