[Problem of intestinal compression due to retroperitoneal fibrosis]

Retroperitoneal fibrosis causes almost without exception ureteral stenosis, frequently vascular constriction but rarely intestinal obstruction. Of 17 cases reported in the literature, 14 showed a colon sigma stenosis and 3 an obstruction of the duodenum. The appearance of intestinal stenosis neither correlates with the duration of symptoms nor with the extent of retroperitoneal fibrosis. Of our own cases, 4 out of 48 patients with retroperitoneal fibrosis presented a colon sigma constriction; of 17 patients with retroperitoneal fibro-carcinomatosis 2 had a stenosis of the sigma and one an obstruction of the duodenum. Discussed in reference to the literature and to two typical cases are difficulties in surgical intervention, the emergency situation of intestinal occlusion and the success and limitations of cortisone therapy for moderate intestinal constriction.