Answers Radiology Corner Case #8

Below you will find the answers to Radiology Corner Case #8

 

  • A 75-year-old male patient presented to the pain clinic with bilateral hip and lumbosacral pain.  At the same time, he presented to the colorectal surgeons reporting rectal bleeding and a change in his bowel habit. A pulsatile mass within the pelvis could be felt on digital rectal examination.
  • Relevant past medical history: This patient was involved in a road traffic accident 25 years previously requiring significant vascular and bony reconstruction. Large amount of metalwork were noted on plain x-ray of the pelvis. The hip joints showed moderate arthritis on plain x-ray, more so on the left than on the right.

Apart from moderate osteoarthritis, what else do you note?

An X Ray image of the patient

An MRI scan of his pelvis was requested, see images below. What do you notice?

 

An X Ray image of the patient
  • There is considerable artefact from metalwork in the lower right pelvis.
  • There appears to be something causing extrinsic mass effect upon the rectum, however the gross artifact (reflection from the metal work) obscures detail.

Further Steps:

  • What do you think could be causing the mass effect?
  • A CT scan was requested to further evaluate this patient. See images below.
An X Ray image of the patient
An X Ray image of the patient