A Huge Cystic Retroperitoneal Lymphangioma Presenting with Back Pain

Retroperitoneal cystic lymphangioma coexisting with a uterine fibroid in a 42-year-old woman: A case report

Lymphangiomas are rare benign neoplasms traditionally thought to result from congenital lymphatic channel malformations, though they may also be associated with other conditions. Retroperitoneal lymphangiomas account for 1% of all lymphangiomas, and fewer than 200 cases have been reported. A 42-year-old woman was admitted with symptoms of abdominal pain and distension. A computerized tomography (CT) scan showed an abdomino-pelvic mass and a giant uterine myoma. The patient underwent explorative laparotomy and the whole cyst mass was removed along with the uterine myoma. Cystic lymphangiomas are often misdiagnosed because of the vague symptoms and the absence of obvious etiology. A provisional diagnosis can be made with CT but histological examination confirms the diagnosis. Cystic lymphangioma should be included in the differential diagnosis of an ovarian cystic mass. Complete resection can be curative.

Retroperitoneal lymphangioma as the final diagnosis of a middle-aged woman with abdominal pain: a case report

BACKGROUND

Lymphangiomas are lesions attributed to congenital malformations of the lymphatic system, or acquired chronic obstruction of the lymphatic network due to trauma, radiation, surgical manipulation, inflammation, or infection. Overall, lymaphangiomas are rare, and particularly, retroperitoneal lymphangiomas are far more uncommon per reported cases.

CASE PRESENTATION

A 49-year-old Iranian woman presented with a progressive abdominal pain since approximately 1 month before admission. She was found to have a retroperitoneal lymphangioma after a precise radiological and surgical workup.

CONCLUSION

Retroperitoneal lymphangiomas are rare lesions, sometimes indistinguishable from malignant lesions originating from pancreas and adjacent organs. Complete surgical removal and histologic evaluation of the lesion is the gold standard of treatment and diagnosis.

Case report and literature review: Giant retroperitoneal cystic lymphangioma

Background

Cystic lymphangioma is a rare benign tumor of the lymphatic system, which is most commonly observed in the neck, head and armpit.Less than 5% of lymphangiomas occur in the abdominal cavity and even less in the retroperitoneum.

Case description

A 65-year-old male patient was diagnosed with an "abdominal mass that had persisted for 1 year, accompanied by abdominal pain, abdominal distension and dyspnea for 7 days". After abdominal computerd tomography, a giant multilobed abdominal lymphangioma was suspected, which squeezed the intestinal canal and was closely related to the inferior vena cava. The patient underwent an exploratory laparotomy, during which, it was found that the tumor formed extensive adhesions to the transverse colon, small intestine and pelvic wall, and enveloped the abdominal aorta, superior mesenteric artery, inferior mesenteric artery and inferior vena cava to varying degrees. It was diffcult to remove the cyst completely. Postoperative pathology confirmed the diagnosis of retroperitoneal cystic lymphangioma. The patient recovered well after the operation, was eating normally by 5 days postoperatively,and was discharged 10 days postoperatively.The patient was followed up 1 month after postoperatively and no evidence of recurrence was observed.

Conclusion

In this case, we report a patient with giant retroperitoneal cystic lymphangioma who underwent exploratory laparotomy combined with preoperative abdominal computerd tomography and acute abdominal pain, abdominal distension and dyspnea. Because of the large volume of the tumor and its close relationship with the superior mesenteric artery and other blood vessels, the surgeon used scissors to separate the tumor sharply and removed the whole tumor completely.

Surgical excision of a large retroperitoneal lymphangioma: A case report

BACKGROUND

Lymphangiomas are rare benign tumors most commonly found in children under 2 years of age; adult cases are extremely rare. Retroperitoneal lymphangiomas represent less than 1% of all lymphangiomas. Because of their benign nature and possibility of spontaneous resolution, lymphangiomas are sometimes left untreated for long periods of time. However, if they grow large enough to compress surrounding structures, retroperitoneal lymphangiomas may cause symptoms such as abdominal pain, nausea or vomiting. We report a case of a rapidly growing retroperitoneal lymphangioma in an adult, treated with complete surgical excision.

CASE SUMMARY

A 60-year-old female who was diagnosed with an intra-abdominal cystic mass (11 cm × 9.5 cm) seven years ago presented to our hospital with symptoms of early satiety, nausea, and intermittent abdominal pain. Computed tomography (CT) scan confirmed interval enlargement to a 24 cm × 22 cm-sized huge left retroperitoneal mass, causing left hydronephrosis by external compression. Laparotomy was done via long midline incision. Due to severe adhesion between the aorta and the medial border of the mass, the cyst was intentionally opened for fluid aspiration and size reduction. After suture closure of the opening, we proceeded carefully with dissection. Aspiration showed light yellowish serous fluid. The mass was excised completely, and the pathology was consistent with cystic lymphangioma. The post-operative period was uneventful, and the patient was discharged without complications. Follow-up CT scan one month after surgery confirmed complete removal of the mass and decreased left hydronephrosis.

CONCLUSION

Excision of the huge retroperitoneal cystic mass resulted in relief of the patient’s symptoms, originally caused by external compression, and also ruled out the possibility of malignancy.

Retroperitoneal cystic lymphangioma-a case report

Retroperitoneal lymphangiomas (RL) are rare benign cystic tumors of the lymphatic system, which account for 1% of all lymphangiomas, and till now less than 200 cases have been reported. We are presenting a 35 years old woman, who was admitted with symptoms of recurrent left lumbar pain. The preliminary diagnosis from CT scan was retroperitoneal cyst. The patient went under explorative laparotomy and whole cyst mass was removed from the surrounding structures using sharp and blunt dissection.

Pediatric cystic lymphangioma of the retroperitoneum: A case report and review of the literature

RATIONALE

Cystic lymphangioma (CL) is a rare benign tumor resulting from a failure of the lymphatic system development. It may occur at any age but it is more frequent during childhood. Its clinical presentation and location are various but abdominal CL are uncommon. Among those, mesenteric presentation is the most frequent form whereas CL of the retroperitoneum are particularly rare.

PATIENT CONCERNS

Herein, we report the case of a 17-years-old patient with no medical history who presented with right-upper quadrant (RUQ) pain, but no other symptom. Physical examination showed tenderness of the RUQ without distension. Lab tests were unremarkable.

DIAGNOSIS

Abdominal computed tomography (CT) highlighted a retroperitoneal cystic mass potentially infiltrating the mesenterium, raising suspicion of a CL of the retroperitoneum. Diagnosis of CL was confirmed by histological analyses.

INTERVENTION

Patient underwent an exploratory laparoscopy that infirmed infiltration of the mesenterium and allowed for resection.

OUTCOMES

Postoperative course was uneventful and there is no evidence of recurrence after 14 months of follow-up.

LESSONS

Although CL essentially occur in children, pediatric retroperitoneal CL is a rare finding, with only 21 cases identified in the literature.In summary, CL are benign tumors rarely located in the retroperitoneum. Despite performant imaging technologies, preoperative diagnosis is challenging. Whenever possible, laparoscopic resection should be the treatment of choice. Herein, we report the largest CL pediatric case laparoscopically resected, and the first review of the literature on the topic.

Retroperitoneal lymphatic malformation in a dog

Background

Lymphatic vascular malformations are rare findings in canine patients with six reports available in veterinary literature. Retroperitoneal cystic lymphatic malformations have not been described previously in canine patients and neither has the use of immunohistochemistry to determine their origin, i.e. vascular versus lymphatic.

Case presentation

An 8-year-old neutered female Cocker spaniel was referred for pollakiuria, dysuria and a painful abdomen. Computed tomography scanning of the abdomen showed a fluid filled structure adjacent to the urinary bladder. During surgical exploration, a thin walled cystic structure with sero-haemorrhagic fluid was found, extending from the retroperitoneal space into the abdomen. The mass was excised and submitted for histopathology, revealing a cystic mass lined by a fibrovascular capsule within the retroperitoneal/mesenteric adipose tissue. The inner surface of the cyst was lined by a single layer of bland, flattened spindle cells. Intramural blood vessels were well differentiated, with perivascular haemorrhage. On recurrence 11 months later, the mass was excised for the second time and a PleuralPort (Norfolk Animal products) was placed. Fifteen months after initial presentation, progression occurred with haemorrhagic fluid in the cystic space, pleural- and abdominal cavities and the owners opted for euthanasia. Histopathology and positive immunohistochemistry for lymphatic markers lymphatic vessel endothelial hyaluronic acid receptor-1 (LYVE-1) and prospero homeobox protein-1 (PROX-1) confirmed a lymphatic vascular origin of the cystic structure.

Conclusions

To our experience, a definitive diagnosis of retroperitoneal cystic malformation of lymphatic origin could be done only by combining the clinical presentation, advanced imaging, histopathology and LYVE-1 and PROX-1 immunohistochemistry. This is the first report of a vascular malformation in a dog where immunohistochemistry was used to make a final diagnosis. A lymphatic malformation, even if rare, should be added on the list of the differential diagnosis in a patient with a retroperitoneal cystic structure containing serohaemorrhagic fluid. Results of this case report can aid in diagnosis of future cases, however, further studies on therapy and management are needed to provide additional information about optimal treatment of these patients.

Rare huge retroperitoneal cystic lymphangioma presenting as acute abdomen in an adult

Cystic lymphangiomas are rare benign tumors. Most are diagnosed in childhood and their presentation in adults is rare. Retroperitoneal cystic lymphangiomas constitute only 1% of lymphangiomas. Unfortunately the differentiation between cystic lymphangiomas and other cystic tumors is often not possible and surgery with histology is essential for confirmation of diagnosis. A 20-year-old lady with retroperitoneal cystic lymphangioma presented with acute abdomen. In the diagnosis of this patient, abdominal Ultrasound, CT and MRI scans were obtained.