2020 Volume 73 Issue 2 Pages 70-76
A 75-year-old man complaining of hematochezia consulted a local clinic. Colonoscopy revealed a type-3 tumor of the colon. The pathologic analysis of a biopsy specimen was colorectal cancer (well-differentiated adenocarcinoma). He was referred to our hospital for further evaluation and treatment. The pre-operative enhanced CT and 3D-CT angiographic examinations showed that the inferior mesenteric artery arose from the superior mesenteric artery, and thus a diagnosis of rectal cancer (RS, cT3N0M0) was made. A laparoscopic high-anterior resection was performed, preserving the left colic artery and resecting the superior rectal artery and inferior mesenteric vein. The post-operative course was uneventful, and he was discharged on post-operative day 15. The histologic diagnosis was a moderately-differentiated adenocarcinoma of the rectum. The final diagnosis was pT2, pN0, pM0, pStage I. In this case, 3D-CT angiography was useful in diagnosing variation of the inferior mesenteric artery. We report this rare case of rectosigmoid cancer in which the inferior mesenteric artery arose from the superior mesenteric artery.
