title: Intra-abdominal myositis ossificans in an asymptomatic patient during closure of a Hartmann's colostomy.
abstract: Intra-abdominal myositis ossificans, also known as heterotopic mesenteric ossification, defines the formation of bone-like lesions inside the abdominal cavity. It is a rare medical condition, usually following abdominal surgery or trauma. A 55-year-old male presented for closure of a Hartmann's colostomy, created 6 months ago because of sigmoid adenocarcinoma. Intraoperative findings consisted of an elongated bone-like lesion attached on the peritoneum and protruding inside the abdominal cavity, while two more stiff calcified nodules were found in the mesocolon. All lesions were excised. The presence of a hard consistency sigmoid stump led to cancelation of the operation. Heterotopous bone formation constitutes a challenging surgical condition, since its clinical presentation is innocuous and repetitive surgery acts a stimuli for additional bone creation. Computed tomography scan plays a major role in its diagnosis, while nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and cimetidine are helpful in preventing further recurrence of the disease.
authors.affiliation: 1st Department of Surgery, 401 General Military Hospital of Athens, Athens , Greece sachsamanis@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Georgios
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sahsamanis
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, 401 General Military Hospital of Athens, Athens , Greece.
authors.forename: Panagiotis
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Triantafylakis
authors.affiliation: 1st Department of Surgery, 401 General Military Hospital of Athens, Athens , Greece.
authors.forename: Konstantinos
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gkouzis
authors.affiliation: 1st Department of Surgery, 401 General Military Hospital of Athens, Athens , Greece.
authors.forename: Konstantinos
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Katis
authors.affiliation: 1st Department of Surgery, 401 General Military Hospital of Athens, Athens , Greece.
authors.forename: Georgios
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dimitrakopoulos