Mucocele of the vermiform appendix misdiagnosed as an adnexal mass on transvaginal sonography.

Mucocele of the vermiform appendix is a rare entity that may mimic a right-sided adnexal mass. We describe a case of appendiceal mucocele in a 78-year-old woman that was initially misdiagnosed as a potentially malignant right ovarian tumor and briefly review the literature on sonographic features of this entity. It is important to improve preoperative diagnosis so as to prevent rupture of mucocele at surgery, which may lead to pseudomyxoma peritonei, and also to seek intraoperatively for the presence of synchronous colorectal neoplasms.

Papoutsis D ，Protopappas A ，Belitsos P ，Sotiropoulou M ，Antonakou A ，Loutradis D ，Antsaklis A ... -  《-》

[Mucocele of the appendix - a heterogenous surgical pathology].

Mucoceles of the appendix are rare. After appendectomy, mucoceles are detected with a frequency of 0.2 to 0.3 %. Both stenosing / obliterating processes and alterations of the epithelium (hyperplasia, mucinous cystadenoma, cystadenoma with uncertain malignant potential (UMP), mucinous cystadenocarcinoma lead to the occurrence of mucoceles. The perforation of a mucocele with possible spread of mucus and cells into the abdominal cavity constitutes a severe complication (pseudomyxoma peritonei). Surgical resection is the curative approach for mucoceles of the appendix. Data of patients who were treated for an appendiceal mucocele between 1995 and 2009 were analysed retrospectively with regard to clinical presentation, diagnostic measures, surgical procedure and histopathological result. Follow-up was evaluated in telephone interviews. We extracted 5 cases from our database. Clinical symptoms varied greatly among the individual patients, ranging from peracute abdominal pain in the right lower quadrant to chronic obstipation. Results from abdominal ultrasound and / or abdominal CT scans contributed to the indication for surgical intervention in all cases. In 2 patients surgery was stated as urgent whereas in 3 the operation was scheduled electively. In one patient the diagnosis of an appendiceal mucocele was stated preoperatively and in another intraoperatively. In 3 patients only the histopathological result revealed the underlying mucocele. We performed 1 open and 1 laparoscopic appendectomy, 1 open appendectomy with a partial resection of the coecum and 2 laparoscopic ileocoecal resections. One of the patients had a pseudomyxoma peritonei. The histopathological diagnoses ranged from mere epithelial hyperplasia to an adenoma with uncertain malignant potential and a mucinous cystadenocarcinoma. One patient's long-term follow-up could not be evaluated. All other patients had neither recurrence nor any complications after discharge. Mucoceles of the appendix present with a wide spectrum of clinical symptoms and histopathological alterations. Only an accurate histological analysis reveals the underlying pathological lesion correctly. This study emphasises that a mucocele of the appendix constitutes an important differential diagnosis in patients presenting with pathologies in their right lower abdominal quadrant.

Kleemann M ，Laubert T ，Krokowski M ，Eckmann C ，Bruch HP ，Kujath P ... -  《-》

Appendiceal mucocele mimicking a cystic right adnexal mass.

Balci O ，Ozdemir S ，Mahmoud AS 《-》

[Preoperatively as adnexa tumor diagnosed mucocele of the appendix].

Jaluvka V ，Becker R 《-》

A mucocele of the appendix seen as an adnexal mass on ultrasound scan.

Ahmed N ，Vimplis S ，Deo N 《-》