[Stenosing anal mass and venereal lymphogranuloma]

Anorectal stricture or stenosis can be one of the late manifestations of lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV) and presents symptoms, clinical and/or radiological aspects indistinguishable from rectal neoplasia. In such cases the differential diagnosis of chronic LGV is seldom considered initially. We describe the case of a white male patient travelling frequently to Thaïland, in whom the diagnosis of chronic anorectal LGV was established after exclusion of other causes, in the presence of a positive serology and with a complex clinical and radiological response after 6 weeks' treatment with tetracyclines. We also review a series of similar cases in the literature.