Case Report
Copyright ©2010 Baishideng. All rights reserved.
World J Gastrointest Surg. Jul 27, 2010; 2(7): 247-250
Published online Jul 27, 2010. doi: 10.4240/wjgs.v2.i7.247
Abdominal wall actinomycosis simulating a malignant neoplasm: Case report and review of the literature
Paola Acquaro, Fulvio Tagliabue, Gianmaria Confalonieri, Paolo Faccioli, Melchiorre Costa
Paola Acquaro, Fulvio Tagliabue, Gianmaria Confalonieri, Melchiorre Costa, Department of Surgery, “A.Manzoni” Hospital, Via dell’Eremo 9/11, 23900 Lecco (LC), Italy
Paolo Faccioli, Department of Radiology, “A.Manzoni” Hospital, Via dell’Eremo 9/11, 23900 Lecco (LC), Italy
Author contributions: Acquaro P and Tagliabue F contributed equally to this work; Faccioli P contributed with the images; Acquaro P, Tagliabue F, Confalonieri G and Costa M wrote the paper.
Correspondence to: Fulvio Tagliabue, MD, Department of Surgery, “A.Manzoni” Hospital, Via dell’Eremo 9/11, 23900 Lecco (LC), Italy. f.tagliabue@ospedale.lecco.it
Telephone: +39-341-489312 Fax: +39-341-489300
Received: January 21, 2010
Revised: February 22, 2010
Accepted: February 27, 2010
Published online: July 27, 2010
Abstract

Abdominal wall actinomycosis is a rare disease frequently associated with the presence of an intra uterine device. We report on a case of a 47-year-old woman who had used an intrauterine device for many years and had removed it about a month prior to the identification of an abdominal wall abscess caused by Actinomyces israelii. The abscess mimicked a malignancy and the patient underwent a demolitive surgical treatment. The diagnosis was obtained only after histopathological examination. Postoperatively, the patient developed an infection of the wound which was treated with daily medication. The combination of long-term high dose antibiotic therapy with surgery led to successful treatment.

Keywords: Actinomycosis, Abdominal wall, Intra uterine device, Abscess, Neoplasm