Solitary ulcer syndrome of the rectum--a histopathologic characterisation of 33 biopsies.

Histological analysis of 33 rectal biopsies from 26 patients of solitary ulcer syndrome (SUS) of rectum was undertaken. Fibrous obliteration and smooth muscle extension into the lamina propria were the characteristic and most constant findings. The limitation of the biopsy procedure in procuring deeper tissue made the detection of colitis cystica profunda rare in our study. A combination of fibrosis of the lamina propria, superficial mucosal ulceration, muscularis mucosae hypertrophy and submucosal fibrosis, along with the clinical suspicion should clinch the diagnosis of SUS.