2013 Volume 33 Issue 4 Pages 731-734
A 74-year-old woman with chronic rheumatoid arthritis visited our hospital complaining of abdominal pain and vomiting. Abdominal enhanced CT revealed extrinsic compression of the right side of the uterus. Under a diagnosis of tumor or inflammation of the small intestine, we performed emergency laparoscopic operation. Ileal stenosis and lymph node swelling were found about 30 cm proximal to the ileal end, and we resected this lesion through a small laparotomy. Pathological examination showed non-specific inflammation and a single ulcer, and we made a final diagnosis of simple ulcer of the ileum. The postoperative course was uneventful and the patient was discharged 9 days after the operation. Small bowel ulcers can be induced by a variety of causes, however, the mechanism of formation still remains unclear.
