[Crohn's disease of the appendix].

22 cases of primary involvement of the appendix in Crohn's disease are reported in the literature. During the last 3 years we observed 4 cases. In three patients typical clinical signs of acute appendicitis were present. One case was found occasionally. The follow-up was 5-30 months. During this time none of our patients showed symptoms of granulomatous enterocolitis in other regions of the bowel. Reviewing the literature 3 of 26 patients (11.5%) showed lesions typical for Crohn's disease elsewhere in the intestine 3-48 months after appendectomy. But two cases had a follow-up of 5 years which time is considered indispensable before one can admit that the disease is really limited to the appendix.