[Digestive lesions after abdominopelvic irradiation, in the treatment of cancers of the genital tract].

The authors report 15 cases collected over a few years on a gastroenterology unit, and emphasize the digestive complications occurring after pelvic or abdomino-pelvic irradiation for genital carcinoma. The rectum and pelvic colon are generally affected. The delays of onset after radiotherapy may reach or exceed several months. The vascular lesions, caused by ionising radiation, explain the tissue ischemia and, consequently the failure of local medical treatment. When severe hemorrhage or visceral perforation occur, surgery is necessary. However, sutures often break down on these insufficiently vascularised tissues and re-operation is always associated with a poor prognosis.