Testicular tumour, could it be benign? A clinical conundrum.

Testicular vasculitis (TV) is a cause of testicular infarction (TI) which can lead to significant morbidity and rarely mortality. Polyarteritis Nodosa (PAN) is the most common vasculitis that leads to testicular infarction (TI). This case report describes the retrospective tissue diagnosis of autoimmune vasculitis in a middle aged Caucasian male who developed left unilateral orchalgia and a hard, palpable testicular mass.

A case report of endometriosis presenting as an acute small bowel obstruction.

INTRODUCTION: Endometriosis is a common and benign condition that causes significant morbidity to women of childbearing age. It uncommonly affects the gastrointestinal tract and rarely manifests as an acute small bowel obstruction. PRESENTATION OF CASE: A 46-year old female presented to the emergency department with signs and symptoms consistent with an acute small bowel obstruction. She had a paucity of background surgical history, having only had a laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Her CT demonstrated small bowel obstruction with a transition point in the distal ileum. Given the site of obstruction was remote from previous surgery, a high index of suspicion was maintained and early laparoscopy performed the same day. Operative findings were consistent with an endometrial stricture of the distal ileum and a formal resection was performed. DISCUSSION: Endometriosis that affects the gastrointestinal tract often presents with non-specific symptoms. This is a rare case of an acute small bowel obstruction as the index symptom of endometriosis in a peri-menopausal patient. This is the first case in the literature to describe same day laparoscopy and small bowel resection of such a case and a prolonged preoperative period and misdiagnoses previously described were avoided due to clinical suspicion. CONCLUSION: Endometriosis as a differential should be considered with a high index of suspicion in pre-menopausal women, particularly in patients with negligible previous surgical history. There should be a low threshold for early laparoscopy and resection of affected bowel in these patients.

A case report of gastric lymphocytic phlebitis, a rare mimic for malignancy.

INTRODUCTION: Lymphocytic phlebitis is a benign condition characterised by inflammation of the veins and rarely affects the gastrointestinal tract. Reported cases present as acute abdomen and involve the colon or small intestine. We report the fourth case of gastric lymphocytic phlebitis in the literature. PRESENTATION OF CASE: A 74-year-old female presented with eight weeks of abdominal pain. Findings at endoscopy were suggestive of a malignant ulcer on the greater curvature of antrum, while biopsies showed chronic gastritis without malignancy. Appearance at diagnostic laparoscopy was consistent with a malignant gastric ulcer with serosal changes. Due to persistent pain and the macroscopic appearance, she proceeded to have an open subtotal gastrectomy and D2 lymph node clearance. Despite macroscopic appearance, the microscopic examination demonstrated no malignancy, and was consistent with lymphocytic phlebitis with overlying ulceration. DISCUSSION: This case was a mimic for gastric malignancy, with the benign diagnosis only being made after surgical resection. Gastric lymphocytic phlebitis is a rare differential diagnosis for gastric ulcers when biopsies are negative, although preoperative diagnosis is difficult given the lesions do not involve the mucosa. CONCLUSION: If clinical history and endoscopic findings are suspicious for malignancy, despite normal biopsies, an aggressive surgical resection remains reasonable given the rarity gastric lymphocytic phlebitis.