Total pelvic exenteration for pelvic recurrence with complex recto-vaginal and vesicovaginal fistula after surgically treated endometrial cancer

Abstract

Local recurrences after surgically treated endometrial cancer with associated vesical and rectal fistula represent a particular eventuality in which the only chance for cure is represented by extended pelvic resections. The aim of the current paper is to present the case of a 62 year old patient diagnosed with a local recurrence invading the urinary bladder and the rectum leading to the development of a complex fistula involving both the urinary and digestive tract after surgically treated endometrial cancer. Although initially the patient was not submitted to pelvic radiation therapy, at the time of relapse the presence of this fistula contraindicated any kind of radiation therapy. Therefore the patient was submitted to a total pelvic exenteration with cutaneous ureterostomy and terminal left colostomy. Another particularity of the patient was the fact that she had an ureteral duplication on the right side, both ureters being functional and exteriorized in right ureterostomy. In conclusion, pelvic exenteration might be a good therapeutic alternative for pelvic recurrences with complex fistulas after surgically treated endometrial cancer.