CROHNS-DISEASE OF THE VULVA - 3 CASES

Background Vulvar involvement in Crohn's disease is uncommon. The elem entary lesion is usually an ulceration: 44 cases have been reported in the literature. In 20 p. 100 of the cases, vulvar involvement is the only manifestation of the disease. We report 3 new cases of vulvar les ions in Crohn's disease. Case reports The first case had vulvar lesion s which complicated ileocolic Crohn's disease, in the other two cases there were no digestive manifestations. One patient developed volumino us edema of the right labium. The diagnosis of Crohn's disease of the vulva was suggested by the characteristic lesions, presence of epithel ioid and giant cell granuloma at histology examination of the vulva sp ecimen and finally on rapidly favorable course after treatment with su lfasalazine. The ulcers regressed with medical treatment but remission was temporary with recurrence at treatment withdrawal. Discussion The se cases underline the difficulties encountered in establishing the di agnosis of Crohn's disease in patients who develop vulvar ulcerations alone with no signs of digestive disease and emphasize the difficult p roblem of long-term control.