title: Abdominal wall actinomycosis simulating a malignant neoplasm: Case report and review of the literature.
abstract: Abdominal wall actinomycosis is a rare disease frequently associated with the presence of an intra uterine device. We report on a case of a 47-year-old woman who had used an intrauterine device for many years and had removed it about a month prior to the identification of an abdominal wall abscess caused by Actinomyces israelii. The abscess mimicked a malignancy and the patient underwent a demolitive surgical treatment. The diagnosis was obtained only after histopathological examination. Postoperatively, the patient developed an infection of the wound which was treated with daily medication. The combination of long-term high dose antibiotic therapy with surgery led to successful treatment.
authors.affiliation: Paola Acquaro, Fulvio Tagliabue, Gianmaria Confalonieri, Melchiorre Costa, Department of Surgery, "A.Manzoni" Hospital, Via dell'Eremo 9/11, 23900 Lecco (LC), Italy.
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Acquaro
authors.forename: Fulvio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tagliabue
authors.forename: Gianmaria
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Confalonieri
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Faccioli
authors.forename: Melchiorre
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Costa