Primary malignant melanoma of the small intestine: a case report.
The small intestine is the most common site of gastro-intestinal metastasis from cutaneous malignant melanoma. A primary origin at this site has been reported in rare cases. We report a case of a 71-year-old man with a primary malignant melanoma in the jejunum. The patient presented with weakness, weight loss, non-specific abdominal pain and episodes of fainting. After clinical examination, laboratory evaluation and radiological work-up, which included CT of the abdomen, the patient was diagnosed with a tumour mass in the jejunum. This diagnosis was confirmed at laparotomy. The patient underwent enterectomy with wide excision of the tumour. A primary malignant melanoma of the small intestine is an extremely rare neoplasm. A definite diagnosis can only be made after a thorough investigation has been made to exclude the co-existence of a primary lesion elsewhere. Curative resection of the tumour remains the treatment of choice.
Katsourakis
A
A
Surgical Department, Agios Dimitrios General Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece.
Noussios
G
G
Alatsakis
M
M
Chatzis
I
I
Chatzitheoklitos
E
E
D000368:Aged; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D016099:Endoscopy, Gastrointestinal / Q000379:methods; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007580:Jejunal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery; D007813:Laparotomy / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed