IMAJ | volume 28
Journal 1, January 2026
pages: 50-52
1 Department of General Surgery, Carmel Medical Center, Haifa, Israel
2 Department of Pathology, Carmel Medical Center, Haifa, Israel
3 Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion–Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
Summary
Thromboangiitis obliterans, also known as Buerger’s disease, is a nonatherosclerotic inflammatory disorder that predominantly involves the small- and medium-sized arteries, veins, and nerves. This condition primarily affects the extremities. Manifestations in other anatomical locations are exceptionally rare. It is almost exclusively seen in relatively young smokers, with an incidence rate of 12.6 per 100,000 individuals in the United States [1].
Tobacco smoking is the most significant risk factor for thromboangiitis obliterans. It plays a crucial role in both the initiation and progression of the disease. Patients typically present with ischemic symptoms resulting from occlusion of the small vessels in the extremities, whereas other symptoms are infrequent [1,2].
The diagnosis is mainly clinical, requiring a history of smoking, characteristic physical findings, and vascular abnormalities observed on imaging. Biopsy is seldom necessary for diagnosis, and smoking cessation remains the sole effective intervention to prevent disease progression [1,2].
In this report, we present the clinical course and surgical management of a 57-year-old male patient with a colonic mass that was histopathologically diagnosed as thromboangiitis obliterans.