Volume 65 - 2002 - Fasc.3 - Case reports
Symptomatic ileocolic fistula as a complication of endoscopic laser therapy A case report
Since 1973, laser photo therapy is used in the treatment of gas- trointestinal neoplasms as well as in various forms of intestinal hemorrhage. Complications including hemorrhage, stenosis and perforation are well documented but ileocolic fistulas after laser therapy for a villous adenoma have been rarely reported. We report the case of a patient with diarrhea related to an ileocecal fis- tula. This fistula appeared 1 year after laser therapy for a villous tumor of the cecum. (Acta gastroenterol. belg., 2002, 65, 176-178).
Non-tumoral elevation of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) : a 10 year follow-up in two subjects
Elevation of serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) in the absence of any liver disease or malignancy, likely of genetic origin, is an uncommon observation which may be the source of diagnostic dif- ficulties in routine clinical practice, especially in cases without available familial data. Animal studies suggest that the anomaly may be related to a mutation located in a regulatory gene different from that mapped for AFP. The transmission pattern of the defect is unknown with a strong suggestion for an autosomal dominant inheritance. We report the cases of two patients in whom a stable elevation of unknown origin of the tumoral marker for up to 10 years, has been observed in the absence of any detectable liver and/or malignancy and in whom the lack of familial data was the source of diagnostic difficulties. (Acta gastroenterol. belg., 2002, 65, 179-181).
