1/3. Anal melanoma: an aggressive malignancy masquerading as hemorrhoids.Anal melanoma is a devastating malignancy easily confused with benign hemorrhoids. Physician unfamiliarity with this bleeding rectal lesion can lead to delays in diagnosis and therapy. Four cases of anal melanoma, all initially mistaken for hemorrhoids, have been documented in the past 4 years at our institution. Despite surgical intervention and chemoimmunotherapy, each patient succumbed to widely metastatic disease. Average survival was 15.2 months. The clinical, pathologic, surgical, and oncologic features of anal melanoma are reviewed to enhance physician recognition of this unusual anorectal disorder.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = physician (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/3. Perianal melanoma disguised as hemorrhoids: case report and discussion.Perianal melanoma is a very rare disease that carries a grave prognosis. The difficulty in making the diagnosis and the rarity of the disease results in failure of recognition until the disease is widespread. Ultimately, the burden is on the physician to uncover this ominous cancer. Not doing so is one of the most significant correlates to poor outcome.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = physician (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/3. Septic complications of hemorrhoidal banding.rubber band ligation is an efficacious and cost-effective alternative to conventional hemorrhoidectomy for symptomatic internal hemorrhoids. Even though the well-recognized complications of bleeding and thrombosis occur infrequently, far more serious septic complications have only recently been described, as evidenced in five of our patients: four cases were serious enough to necessitate surgical intervention, and one patient died. pain followed by urinary dysfunction with or without toxic symptoms should alert the physician to the probability of localized perianal or systemic sepsis. Acute awareness of these rare but potentially life-threatening complications and immediate aggressive treatment is mandatory if death is to be prevented. rubber band ligation of internal hemorrhoids need not be abandoned; however, the indications should be clear, the technique mastered, and a close patient follow-up maintained.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = physician (Clic here for more details about this article) |