BackgroundFournier’s gangrene in the setting of rectal cancer is rare. Treatment for Fournier’s gangrene associated with rectal cancer is more complex than other cases of Fournier’s gangrene. We report on a patient with severe Fournier’s gangrene in the setting of locally advanced rectal cancer who was treated with a combined modality therapy.Case presentationA 65-year-old man presented with general fatigue and anal pain. The medical and surgical histories were unremarkable. A black spot on the perineal skin surrounded by erythema was found on physical examination, suspicious for Fournier’s gangrene. Computed tomography scan showed a rectal tumor invading into the bladder (clinically T4bN2M0) and abscess formation with emphysema around the rectum. He was thus diagnosed with locally advanced rectal cancer and Fournier’s gangrene with a severity index score of 12 points. We created a diverting loop colostomy of the transverse colon and performed extensive debridement of the perineum and perianal area. Fifty days later, the patient underwent radical total pelvic exenteration with sacrectomy. In addition, reconstruction of the soft tissue defect was performed using the rectus muscle, the gluteus maximus muscle, and the femoral muscle. Histopathological findings of the specimen were as follows: the tumor was a moderately adenocarcinoma with invasion to the bladder and the prostate (T4b), metastases to four resected lymph nodes (N2), and lymphovascular invasion. There were no major postoperative complications, and the patient was discharged 108 days postoperatively.ConclusionsWe report a rare case of locally invasive rectal cancer associated with Fournier’s gangrene. This case highlights a usual cause of Fournier’s gangrene. Physicians should be cognizant not only of the more common condition but also of the rare presentations including those associated with rectal cancer.
Volvulus of the large bowel is the third most common cause of colonic obstruction. A patient with colonic obstruction or delayed small intestinal transit may frequently have bacterial overgrowth and increased breath hydrogen (H(2)) and/or methane (CH(4)) excretion because the bacterium can contact with food residues for a longer time. A 39 year old woman attended our hospital with complaints of abdominal pain and distension. This patient's abdominal radiograph showed an inverted U-shaped shadow. The fasting breath CH(4) level was 26 ppm. An endoscopic procedure was immediately carried out with suspected sigmoid colon volvulus, and detorsion was achieved. There was resolution of the sigmoid volvulus after colonoscopy, and breath CH(4) concentration in the next morning decreased to 10 ppm. A liquid meal was supplied at noon on the second hospital day. The breath CH(4) concentration increased markedly to 38 ppm at 18:00 although she had no abdominal symptoms. This value peaked at 42 ppm at 18:00 on the third hospital day and was gradually reduced to 20 ppm the next day. The breath H(2) concentration value kept a low level during fasting and increased markedly to 51 ppm the next day after a liquid meal was supplied. The next morning, fasting breath H(2) concentration rapidly decreased to 6 ppm. This suggests that changes in breath H(2) levels may reflect transient malabsorption after a liquid test meal is supplied. In conclusion, breath H(2) and CH(4) analysis may be another tool for evaluating the intestinal circumstances.
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