Deep cystic colitis located in a previous surgical anastomosis

Deep cystic colitis is a rare disease of which about one hundred cases have been reported in the medical literature. Two forms are known, segmental and localized, the latter being the most frequent. We offer a case of a patient who developed a picture of deep localized cystic colitis on a previous surgical anastomosis, a very infrequent association. The value of intraoperative biopsy in these cases is discussed. It is necessary to be aware of this entity and its clinicopathologic correlations to differentiate it, especially from the therapeutic and prognostic points of view, from well differentiated colorectal carcinoma and colloid (mucoid extracellular) carcinoma.