Scleroderma of the colon presenting with acute abdominal symptoms.
A 66-year-old woman with long-standing systemic sclerosis presented with fever, acute abdominal pain and tenderness. She was treated with antibiotics. At laparotomy six weeks later, a narrow, stiff, friable and fibrotic right colon was found with histological features of scleroderma. The acute attack was interpreted as an ischaemic episode of the colon which later healed by fibrosis.
D000006:Abdomen, Acute / Q000209:etiology; D000368:Aged; D003108:Colonic Diseases / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D012595:Scleroderma, Systemic / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery