[Rectal stenosis. A rare complication of chronic salpingitis caused by an intrauterine device]

The authors describe one case of rectal stenosis complicating chronic salpingitis in a patient carrying an intrauterine device. This observation is peculiar in that the inflammatory fibrous reaction is very intense, spreading all over the pelvis and forming a pseudotumoral mass sheathing the rectum. The clinical signs were mainly digestive, including a rectal syndrome: cramplike pelvic pain before defecation, tenesmus, constipation, abdominal pain and induration of the anterior aspect of the rectum observed during the clinical examination. Radiological examinations (barium enema, ultrasound, CT) show a tissue mass within the pelvis, with considerable thickening of the rectal wall. Ultrasound-guided biopsy in the pelvis yielded only nonspecific inflammatory signs with dominant fibrosis. The diagnosis of rectal stenosis caused by chronic salpingitis complicating the presence of an IUD was made only during surgery.