Diagnosis and Treatment of Anorectal Lesions in Crohn's Disease

PURPOSE: Anorectal lesions in patients with Crohn's disease (CD) are difficult to manage because of frequent recurrences and complications. The aim of this study is to evaluate the relationship between anorectal lesions and CD and to analyze the methods of management and the results of anorectal lesions. METHODS: The records of 33 patients with CD who had anorectal lesions, who visited our institution from July 2001 to June 2007, were reviewed retrospectively. RESULTS: CDs involving the small and the large bowel in 24 patients, the small bowel in 4 patients, the large bowel in 4 patients, and only the anorectum in 1 patient. Twenty-two patients (75.9%) were diagnosed as CD with unusual anorectal findings: unhealed wound or delayed healing of wound after the initial anal operation, multiple ulcers or fissures, broad based or friable fistula tract, non-cryptoglandular type of fistula, multiple fistula tracts, and recurrent or concurrent fistula. The predominant type of anorectal lesion was a perianal fistula (28 patients, 84.8%). Twelve out of 45 anal specimens (26.7%) showed noncaseating epithelioid granulomas, characteristic findings of CD. Conservative treatment was performed in 7 patients (21.2%), anorectal operations in 26 patients (78.8%). Twelve of those 26 patients underwent multiple operations. Anorectal operations were performed as follows: incision and drainage (8), fistulotomy or fistulectomy (17), muscle-preserving surgery (7), seton drainage (12), and modified Hanley's procedure (1). All anorectal operations, except those for an abscess, were performed after induction of remission of the CD. Satisfactory results were achieved in 29 patients (87.9%). CONCLUSION: In patients with unusual anorectal lesions, a diagnostic work-up for CD should be performed. Anorectal lesions with CD may be properly managed using several different methods, depending on the anorectal conditions and the activity of the CD.

Duplication of the Transverse Colon: A Case Report

Duplications of the alimentary tract are rare congenital malformations and accurate diagnosis is difficult. Duplications can occur at any level in the gastrointestinal tract. Ileal duplications are the most common while colonic duplications are rare. Duplications are usually single, vary widely in size, are more often spherical than tubular and are lined by alimentary tract mucosa. They usually share a common smooth muscle wall and blood supply with the adjacent bowel, with which they may be communicated. Some duplications are asymptomatic but more than 80% of cases present before age of 2 years. Recently, we have experienced a case of duplication of the transverse colon in 9-year old female patient without any other combined anomaly. The chief complaint were palpable abdominal mass, defecational difficulty and intermittent cramping pain of abdomen. The duplication of the transverse colon was diagnosed at operation. A left hemicolectomy was performed with complete resection of duplicated bowel. We report a case of colonic duplication and review the literature.

Current Trend of Inflammatory Bowel Disease

PURPOSE: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has steadily increased, according to westernized life style, popular use of colonoscopy, and development of pathology and diagnostic radiology. However, there is no avaliable data about epidemiology of IBD in Korea. Even though our data is not a standard of IBD patients in Korea, it is possible to understand the trend of IBD. METHODS: From Jan. 1995 to Dec. 2000, cases of ulcerative colitis (UC), Crohn's disease (CD), and indeterminate colitis (ID) were evaluated retrospectively. Annual incidence of IBD at our hospital was calculated with using new IBD patients/new out-patients. To compare the incidence of CD with that of intestinal tuberculosis (TB), intestinal TB cases from Jan. 1997 to Dec. 2000 were evaluated. RESULTS: Total number of IBD patients was 651: UC (480, 73.7%), CD (149, 22.9%) and ID (22, 3.4%) in order of frequency. Male was more prevalent than female (1.2:1), especially in CD (2.5:1). However, there was no difference of sex in UC. Mean age was 37.9 ( 14.1) years old, ranging from 11 to 79. CD patients (25.1 9.4) were younger than UC (41.9 13.0). Incidence of IBD out of new out-patients increased annually:0.30% (53 cases) in 1995, 0.31% (67 cases) in 1996, 0.37% (99 cases) in 1997, 0.38% (100 cases) in 1998, 0.54% (158 cases) in 1999 and 0.58% (174 cases) in 2000. The most common types of UC and CD were proctitis (52.3%) and ileocolic type (59.7%), respectively. Incidence of CD was more prevalent than that of intestinal TB (2.5:1). CONCLUSION: About 0.5% of new out-patients had IBD and the number of patients of IBD increased annually. CD patients were younger than those of UC and male was predominant. The number of patients with CD exceeded that of intestinal TB patients.

Passage Pattern of the Colon during Colonoscopy Based on the 'Axis-Maintaining and Bowel-Shortening Method'

PURPOSE:During colonoscopy, smooth insertion of the colonoscope is an important basic procedure. However, it is not necessarily easy. An understanding of the passage patterns of the colon is helpful for colonoscopy. In this study, the authors aimed to contribute information that could be useful to effect a smooth and effective introduction of the colonoscope. METHODS:The authors performed 7,560 colonoscopies from May 2000 to December 2000. All cases were performed without using sedatives or analgesics. Out of those 7,560 cases, 2,289 cases, which were performed by one colonoscopist, were selected, excluding those with incomplete colonoscopy, those with a history of bowel resection, those with poor bowel preparation, those with advanced disease, such as inflammatory bowel disease, cancer, etc., and those with conditions that could markedly affect colonoscopy. Those 2,289 cases were classified as 4 patterns according to the passage patterns through the colon during colonoscopy:pattern A, passage is possible using right torque and pull-back; pattern B, bowel-shortening is possible at the peak point of the sigmoid colon; pattern C, bowel-shortening is possible at the transverse colon because of a markedly redundant sigmoid colon; and pattern D, pattern is difficult to specify. Those 2,289 cases were also analyzed regarding age. As to age, they were divided into two groups, those under the 6th decade and those of the 6th decade or older. RESULTS:The most common pattern was pattern A, comprising 71.3%; next was pattern B, 19.7%. There was no significant difference in distribution of the passage patterns between the two age groups (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS:Ninety-one percent (91%) of the cases were patterns A and B. An understanding of the passage patterns will be helpful for smooth insertion of the colonoscope. The 'axis-maintaining and bowel-shortening method' is a useful and effective approach to colonoscopy.

Significance of Subclassification of Depressed-Type Early Colorectal Cancer Based on Growth and Development

PURPOSE:Recently it became obvious that some early cancers which appeared to be polyp lesions had actually originated from depressed-type lesions. The aim of this study was to clarify both the characteristics of depressed- type early colorectal cancers compared with protruded- or flat-type ones and the significance of a subclassification of depressed-type early cancers. METHODS:The authors experienced 248 early colorectal cancers from 1996 to 2000. We classified those cancers into protruded, flat, and depressed types based on growth and development. Further, we used Kudo's classification to subclassify the depressed-type cancers into three sub-types, IIc, IIa+IIc, and Is+IIc. We analyzed the 248 cases with emphasis on size, type, sub-type, and submucosal cancer (sm) rate. RESULTS:The sm rate of the depressed cancers was 81.8% (18/22) and was significantly higher than those of the protruded (30.5%) or the flat (38.5%) types (P<0.05). The sm rate of the depressed lesions not larger than 10 mm was 70% (7/10) and that of the lesions from 11 mm to 20 mm was 91.7% (11/12); there were no depressed cancers larger than 20 mm in diameter. The sm rate of the type IIa+IIc plus type Is+IIc lesions was higher than that of type IIc lesions (93.3%, 14/15 vs. 57.1%, 4/7). Endoscopic resection was done in 74.2% of all early colorectal cancers. CONCLUSIONS:The sm rate of depressed-type early colorectal cancers was 82%, and no depressed cancers were larger than 20 mm in diameter, suggesting that by the time a depressed-type cancers had become larger than 20 mm in size, it had already progressed into an advanced cancer. Thus, it is very important to detect depressed-type cancers in an early stage. Moreover, it is imperative to differentiate type IIa+IIc and type Is+IIc from polyp lesions and to manage them cautiously because their sm rate is higher than that for type IIc lesions.

Clinical Pitfalls in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Solitary Rectal Ulcer Syndrome / 대한소화기내시경학회지

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Solitary rectal ulcer syndrome (SRUS) is a rare disease, but it is encountered in the colorectal field. SRUS is usually associated with defecation disorders such as puborectalis dysfunction, rectal occult or overt prolapse, descending perineum syndrome, and so forth. Without knowledge about SRUS, the lesion could be easily overlooked or misdiagnosed. The histologic characteristics of SRUS are fibromuscular obliteration in the lamina propria and/or misplaced mucin-filled cysts below the muscularis mucosae, this latter condition being commonly referred to as colitis cystica profunda. However, these characteristics, even though they exist, are often missed in the initial biopsy specimens from SRUS patients, leading to misdiagnoses which cause delayed diag-nosis and treatment. In spite of the incomplete histologic indications, a careful and con-scientious clinician, using clinical features and characteristic endoscopic findings, would not misdiagnose SRUS lesions. In other words, the clinical features and endoscopic find-ings are as important as, if not more important than, the histologic findings in the diag-nosis of SURS lesions. METHODS: The authors reviewed and analyzed 18 recently experi-enced, biopsy-proven cases of SRUS with emphasis on gross classification and initial pathologic misdiagnoses. RESULTS: The most common age groups were the 5th and the 6th decades with a mean age of 46.5. The male-to-female ratio was 1.6 : 1. The most common symptoms were mucous discharge and defecation difficulty. All lesions involvedthe rectum, and the lower rectum was the most common site. Four diffuse-type lesions showed an extensive involvement up to the sigmoid colon. The most common form of SRUS was the elevated type (44.4%). The ulcerated type accounted for 27.8% of the cases and the flat type, 22.2%. Circumferential involvement of the SRUS was noticed in 3 cases. In 9 cases (50%), pathologic findings missed the characteristics of SRUS and indicated one or a combination of chronic nonspecific inflammation, a chronic ulcer, an inflam-matory polyp, an adenomatous polyp, pseudomembranous colitis, and adenocarcinoma. In three of these cases, a second biopsy was taken with the same results. Based on the clinician' s belief that SRUS was the cause of the lesions, all nine cases were reviewed by the pathologist and a final diagnosis of SRUS was reached. Associated disorders were hemorrhoids, rectoceles, rectal prolapse, perianal fistulas, descending perineum syndrome, and anal fissures. Among them, hemorrhoids and rectoceles were the most common disorders. Four SRUS cases were managed surgically with good results. The surgical treatment was an excision of the lesion itself and/or the correction of the associated disorders. CONCLUSIONS: The histologic characteristics of SRUS are the key to diagnosis, but sufficiently large biopsy specimens are necessary in order to obtain the correct diagnosis. However, the clinical features, including symptoms and associated disorders, plus the characteristic endoscopic findings can produce the correct diagnosis even in cases of insufficiently large biopsy samples or incomplete histologic reports.

Surgical Managements of Anal Stricture

Anal stricture is a mechanical narrowing of the anal canal due to contracture of the epithelial lining which has been supplanted by fibrous connective tissue. We reviewed 82 patients with anal strictures who were admitted at Song-Do Colorectal Hospital from Jan. 1994 to Dec. 1996. The etiology of the strictures were injection therapy with necrotizing agent in 62 patients(78%), secondary to hemorrhoid and fistular operations in 13 patients(17%), and other causes in 7 patients(8.5%). The degree of anal stricture was mild in 40 patients, moderate in 33 patients, and severe in 9 patients. The operation methods used to treat the anal strictures were infernal sphincterotomy in 27 patients, local advancement flap in 42 patients, and rotational flap in 13 patients; the selection of the operation method was based on the cause, severity and level of the stricture. During the local advancement or rotational flap operation, a concurrent internal sphincterotomy was also employed in selected patients who had a fibrotic muscular component contributing to the stricture. We preferred to use a sliding skin graft in the advancement flap operation and a C-flap in rotational flap operation. According to a follow-up study with an average follow-up of 20 months, 24 of the 27 patients with mild stricture, 19 of the 24 patients with moderate stricture, and 7 of the 8 patients with severe stricture had good results, and remained 3 patients with mild stricture, 5 patient with moderate stricture, and 1 patient with severe stricture had fair results. Mild anal strictures were effectively treated by sphincterotomy or one or two sliding skin grafts, moderate to severe anal strictures with diaphragmatic type were treated by anorectoplasty, and moderate to severe low anal stoictures with annular type were effectively treated by two or three sliding skin grafts. Based on these results, sliding skin grafts should be effective in most cases of moderate to severe anal canal stricture, although occasionally a rotational flap may be indicated in cases of severe lack of the anoderm.