Volume 73 Number 8 December 2006	back to contents

¹Resident in Surgery, ²Assistant Professor of Surgery, and ³Professor of Surgery, Department of Surgery, Mount Sinai Medical Center and Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY.

Address all correspondence to Gary Slater, M.D., Department of Surgery, Box 1259, Mount Sinai Medical Center, One Gustave L. Levy Place, New York, NY 10029; e-mail: gary.slater@msnyuhealth.org

Accepted for publication July 2006.

Abstract

Enterosalpingeal fistula is a rare complication of Crohn's disease that is rarely diagnosed pre-operatively. We describe two cases of enterosalpingeal fistula. Both cases were diagnosed during exploration and required en bloc resection of the small bowel and fallopian tube. Literature review yielded only one specific case report of ileosalpingeal fistula and two other cases described in a larger series. Management of ileosalpingeal fistula should include resection of the diseased bowel as well as removal of the affected fallopian tube.

Crohn's disease has an extremely wide spectrum of clinical manifestations. The hallmark of Crohn's disease is bowel inflammation with fistula or stricture formation. Organs commonly involved in fistula formation include the skin, small bowel, colon, and bladder. Rare fistula sites include the duodenum, stomach and gynecological structures such as the ovaries, fallopian tubes and vagina. We present two cases of Crohn's disease of the terminal ileum fistulizing to the fallopian tube. There is only one specific report of an ileosalpingeal fistula, although another author has described two additional cases in a large series of Crohn's fistulas.

Key Words

Crohn's disease, ileosalpingeal fistula, enterosalpingeal fistula

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