Martinet O, Reis E D, Joseph J M, Saraga E, Gillet T M
Department of Surgery and lnstitute of Pathology, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Dis Colon Rectum. 2000 Nov;43(11):1601-3. doi: 10.1007/BF02236749.
Isolated phlebitis of the gastrointestinal tract is rare and potentially life threatening. We report on a patient who developed peritonitis, requiring emergency laparotomy, total colectomy, and ileostomy because of colon necrosis. The specimen displayed multiple ulcerations and erosions. Histology showed a predominantly lymphocytic infiltrate of small-sized and middle-sized veins in the submucosa and subserosa, associated with granulomas and foci of vein wall necrosis. Arteries were spared. No local recurrence or systemic vasculitis developed during a follow-up period of two years. Isolated granulomatous phlebitis seems to be self-limited, and its cause is unknown. Surgical resection of the diseased intestine is usually curative.
