The case reported here was a 74-year-old woman who noticed rash in the right shoulder from about 1991 and visited the dermatological department of our hospital in July 1996 because the rash spread over the left shoulder and back. The rash was diagnosed as amyloidosis on skin biopsy. She was referred to a department of internal medicine for systemic examination.
In colonoscopic examination, small and whitish submucosal phyma-like protrusions were sporadically observed from the rectum to the sigmoid colon, and angiectasia from the ascending colon to the cecum. Congo red positive substances were detected in her biopsy specimen of the lesions. Thus the patient was diagnosed as having primary amyloidosis based on the results of all related examinations.
Colorectal amyloidosis shows various endoscopic appearances, including rare cases of phyma formation due to regional deposition of amyloid. We encountered a case with small submucosal phyma-like protrusions identical to skin lesions. Thus we herein report this case in addition to the discussion on the literature.
