Rectal prolapse in scleroderma: case report and review of the colonic complications of scleroderma

Scleroderma of the colon is commonly associated with constipation, as was the case in a 70-year-old woman with rectal prolapse described by the authors. The chronic constipation in this patient may have been the cause of her rectal prolapse, but the onset of the prolapse and scleroderma at about the same time suggest that the scleroderma may have been a causative factor. A Ripstein repair of the prolapse was carried out. The authors discuss some of the complications of colonic scleroderma, which include megacolon, transverse and sigmoid colonic volvulus, telangiectasia, stenosis and diverticula and stercoral ulceration.