[Inverted polypoid hamartoma of the rectum in a child]

Hamartomatos inverted polyps of the rectum were observed in a 12 years-old boy suffering from recurrent rectal discharges of mucus. Diagnosis was made on examination of rectal specimens obtained by local excisions and finally by recto-sigmoïdectomy, showing ectopic lobulated glandular structures deep to the muscularis mucosae. This histological aspect must be differentiated from adenocarcinoma, but in the paediatric age, prognosis depends on the degree of diffusion of the hamartomatous tissue, which may lead to extensive surgery such as recto-sigmoïdectomy. Whether this lesion is dysgenetic or acquired is discussed, and what relation can be presumed with solitary ulcer of the rectum is not clear.