UCLA Radiological Sciences Proceedings

Pneumoperitoneum is the abnormal presence of air in the peritoneal cavity. In cases of massive pneumoperitoneum, abdominal radiographs may reveal “the football sign,” which results from air outlining the abdominal cavity and surrounding the falciform ligament. Although most cases of pneumoperitoneum result from visceral perforation, there is increased awareness of other causes, resulting in an entity referred to as nonsurgical pneumoperitoneum (NSP). We report a case of nonsurgical pneumoperitoneum with a football sign on supine radiographs in a preterm 1-month-old infant who had a complex medical history. The patient developed sepsis and underwent an exploratory laparotomy, which ruled out perforation as well as any intra-abdominal cause for the pneumoperitoneum and infection.

Ovarian torsion, the twisting of the ovary on its supporting tissues, occurs primarily in premenopausal women, causing acute abdominal or pelvic pain. Without prompt diagnosis and surgical intervention, adnexal torsion may lead to ovarian infarction and a resulting reduction in fertility. Radiologic methodologies including ultrasound, color Doppler ultrasound, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can play key roles in the diagnosis of this entity by allowing for the visualization of blood flow to the ovary.

Breast hemangiomas are benign vascular tumors that are infrequently identified in male patients. Most of the reported cases of hemangiomas in male breasts have been identified in symptomatic patients who presented with a palpable lump in the breast. We present a case of an incidentally discovered hemangioma in an asymptomatic male patient, raising the possibility that male breast hemangiomas may be more prevalent than originally thought.