Summary

A 17-year-old boy with no medical comorbidities, but a significant family history of malignancy, presented to Accident and Emergency following 3 days of increasing rectal pain, symptoms of bladder outflow obstruction (poor flow, intermittent stream and hesitancy) and dysuria. Notably he had no abdominal pain. Digital rectal examination revealed a tender, enlarged prostate. Inflammatory markers were significantly raised (white cell count 17.7, C reactive protein 191). He was diagnosed clinically as prostatitis and commenced on intravenous antibiotics. Despite this his pain and inflammatory markers deteriorated, necessitating a CT of his abdomen and pelvis. This demonstrated multiloculated large thick-walled abscesses in the pelvis closely related to the rectum, prostate and seminal vesicles with some bowel wall thickening. Laparoscopy demonstrated a large colonic mass adherent to surrounding structures. The procedure was converted to laparotomy to enable resection of the mass via a limited right haemicolectomy. He recovered well and was discharged. Histopathological analysis of the specimen revealed appendicitis.