[Metachronous carcinoma of the colon: report of a clinical case]. / Carcinoma 'meta-metacrono' del colon: descrizione di un caso clinico.

The Authors deal with a rare case of 'meta-metachronous' carcinoma of the colon. A seventy years old man was admitted to ward after being diagnosed an adenocarcinoma of the transverse colon. The anamnestic data pointed out that the patient had already been operated twice for the colon carcinoma, which had been diagnosed in the left colon and in the cecum respectively seven and two years before. A colonoscopy performed sixteen months before did not show any lesion of the residual colon. It is likely that tiny lesions, which were still in the adenoma phase, were not diagnosed by the endoscopy; it is also possible that the adenoma-carcinoma sequence was extremely fast. On the basis of this experience the Authors recommend that patients with metachronus carcinoma undergo either frequent controls or a preventive subtotal colectomy.

[Sarcoidosis with a prevalent splenic localization: surgical option (presentation of a case]. / Sarcoidosi a prevalente localizzazione splenica: opzione chirurgica (presentazione di un caso).

Sarcoidosis is a granulomatosis disease of unknown origin with a variable clinical presentation. The reported frequency of splenomegaly in sarcoidosis ranges from 1% to 40%. Splenomegaly has been associated with clinical evidence of more extensive thoracic and extrathoracic sarcoidosis. We describe an interesting case of sarcoidosis with giant splenomegaly and abdominal pain but no evidence of systemic involvement. Sarcoidosis must be considered in the differential diagnosis of splenomegaly. The main indication for splenectomy is splenomegaly with resulting discomfort and/or haematological abnormalities. Though the natural history of sarcoidosis is generally unchanged after splenectomy, in our patient the operation resolved the abdominal pain completely with no need for further therapy.