Endometriotic stricture of the sigmoid colon presenting with intestinal obstruction

Abstract

Endometriosis, a relatively common condition, rarely involves the bowel; even more rarely does it present as a large-bowel stricture with intestinal obstruction. We report the case of a young woman who presented to an  emergency department with intestinal obstruction secondary to an endometriotic stricture of the sigmoid colon,  without evidence of disease elsewhere in the peritoneal cavity. Although large-bowel obstruction is usually caused by  a malignant tumour, it can sometimes result from rare causes such as endometriosis. Symptoms of a cyclical nature may remind the clinician of this possibility.