Retroperitoneal abscess presenting with a buttock swelling and anaemia

Pelvic primary staphylococcal infection presenting as a thigh abscess

Intra-abdominal disease can present as an extra-abdominal abscess and can follow several routes, including the greater sciatic foramen, obturator foramen, femoral canal, pelvic outlet, and inguinal canal. Nerves and vessels can also serve as a route out of the abdomen. The psoas muscle extends from the twelfth thoracic and fifth lower lumbar vertebrae to the lesser trochanter of the femur, which means that disease in this muscle group can migrate along the muscle, out of the abdomen, and present as a thigh abscess. We present a case of a primary pelvic staphylococcal infection presenting as a thigh abscess. The patient was a 60-year-old man who presented with left posterior thigh pain and fever. Physical examination revealed a diffusely swollen left thigh with overlying erythematous, shiny, and tense skin. X-rays revealed no significant soft tissue lesions, ultrasound was suggestive of an inflammatory process, and MRI showed inflammatory changes along the left hemipelvis and thigh involving the iliacus muscle group, left gluteal region, and obturator internus muscle. The abscess was drained passively via two incisions in the posterior left thigh, releasing large amounts of purulent discharge. Subsequent bacterial culture revealed profuse growth of Staphylococcus aureus. The patient recovered uneventfully except for a moderate fever on the third postoperative day.

Right gluteal abscess: an unusual presentation of perforated caecal adenocarcinoma

INTRODUCTION

Colonic cancer presenting as a remote abscess in the gluteal region, abdominal wall, retroperitoneal region, groin or thigh is rare.

CASE REPORT

We report a case of advanced carcinoma of the caecum in an elderly lady without bowel symptoms presenting as right gluteal abscess.

DISCUSSION

In the differential diagnosis of gluteal/ upper thigh abscess the rare possibility of colonic cancer perforation as a cause should be considered.

A case of primary psoas abscess presenting as buttock abscess

Buttock abscess is a rare clinical manifestation from unusual extrapelvic extension of psoas abscess. A 48-year-old woman presented with painful swelling of the buttock with a sense of local heat. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a large subfascial abscess over the glutei muscles and was traced into the intraabdominal cavity over the iliac wing to the psoas muscle. Both the psoas abscess and the buttock abscess were evacuated via separate approaches. Empirical antibiotic therapy was delivered for 3 weeks. After 6 months, no evidence of recurrence was found. Psoas abscess could be included in the differential diagnosis of buttock abscess.