Laparoscopic management of xanthogranulomatous colitis

Abstract

Xanthogranulomatous inflammation is an uncommon entity, which generally affects the gall bladder and kidney. The involvement of the colon is extremely rare. The clinical picture, imaging and colonoscopy often suggest a neoplastic pathology but a negative biopsy creates confusion. The pre-operative diagnosis is often inclined towards malignancy. We report the case of a 60-year-old man with a 4 × 4 cm lump in the right hypochondrium. Colonoscopy showed a friable mass in the ascending colon. CECT suggested cancer but tissue biopsy did not. In contrast to earlier cases where laparotomy followed by radical resections were undertaken, we did a diagnostic laparoscopy followed by lap-assisted right hemicolectomy for the suspicion of cancer of the colon. The diagnosis of xanthogranulomatous infection was made on the final histopathological examination.

Keywords

• xanthogranulomatous colitis
• laparoscopy
• hemicolectomy
• carcinoma colon