Endometriosis is the presence of endometrial glands and stroma outside the uterus. Spontaneous abdominal wall endometriosis (AWE) is any ectopic endometrium found superficial to the peritoneum without the presence of any previous scar. Rarely, endometriosis represents a disease of specific interest to the general surgeon, on account of its extrapelvic localisations. We describe a case with spontaneous AWE presenting as a painful mass with cyclic symptoms. A 28-year-old woman presented to the day-surgery division of our department, suffering from a painful mass in the left lower abdominal quadrant. A mobile mass of 5 x 4 cm was identified. The initial diagnosis was lipoma and excision was planned. During the operation two masses were spotted, very close to one another, and were excised within healthy limits. Pathology revealed endometrial glands surrounded by a disintegrating mantle of endometrial stroma and fibrous scar tissue in which there was a scattering of leucocytes. The woman had no scars. She was discharged from hospital after 2 hours. Two years after the excision she is free of disease and no recurrence has been observed. Spontaneous AWE is rare, accounting for 20% of all AWEs. The triad ; mass, pain and cyclic symptomatology helps in the diagnosis, but unfortunately it is not present in all cases. Spontaneous endometriomas are usually diagnosed by pathology and the treatment of choice is surgical excision.

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Use of the Harmonic Scalpel in total thyroidectomy is more effective than the clamp-and-tie technique: the duration of surgery, intraoperative difficulty, postoperative pain, and hospitalization are reduced. Both techniques are equivalent concerning RLN injuries, postoperative vocal alterations, and blood loss.

BackgroundSacrococcygeal pilonidal disease is a chronic, well-recognized entity, characterized by the recurrent formation of an abscess or draining sinus over the sacrococcygeal area. It is one of the most common surgical problems. Rarely, chronic inflammation and recurrent disease leads to malignant transformation, most commonly to squamous cell carcinoma (SCC).Case presentationWe describe an extremely unusual case of SCC developing in a 60-year-old patient with a chronic pilonidal sinus complicated by an anal fistula. After wide surgical excision of the pilonidal sinus and fistulas and because of the poor healing process 6 months later, colonoscopy and a percutaneous fistulography were performed, revealing an anal canal-pilonidal fistula. Patient was treated with a more radical surgical resection with a prophylactic loop colostomy, but healing was not accelerated. Multiple biopsies were then taken from the surgical site at the time, which revealed the development of SCC. CT and MRI imaging techniques revealed SCC partial invasion of the coccyx and sacrum. As a result, aggressive surgical approach was decided. Histological examination revealed moderately to poorly differentiated SCC, and the patient was treated with adjuvant radiation therapy postoperatively. Nine months later, recurrence was found in the sacrum and para-aorta lymph nodes and the patient died shortly after. We discuss the clinical features, pathogenesis, treatment options, and prognosis of this rare malignant transformation.ConclusionsThe development of SCC in chronic pilonidal disease is a rare but serious complication. Symptoms are usually attributed to the sacrococcygeal pilonidal disease (SPD), and diagnosis is often made late by histological examination of biopsies. Malignant transformation should be suspected in chronic SPD with recurrent episodes of inflammation, repeated purulent discharge, poor healing, and chronic complex fistulas.