Lymphangioma of the kidney

Abstract

Lymphangiomas are rare benign tumors that are congenital malformations of the lymphatic system. Most cases present in children as a soft, cystic mass in the neck and the axilla. Primary renal lymphangioma is exceedingly rare, with only 35 cases reported so far. We report a case of primary lymphangioma arising from the kidney. A 59-year-old man was referred for evaluation of a right renal mass found in an abdominal ultrasonography during a health checkup. Abdominal ultrasonography and computed tomography (CT) revealed a 3.2 x 2.9 cm multiloculated cystic mass in the upper pole of the right kidney. We could not deny malignant disease such as cystic renal cell carcinoma with any diagnostic modalities. The patient was brought to surgery. During the surgical procedure, the tumor was suspected to be lymphangioma of the kidney as a result of a frozen- section histopathological evaluation. Therefore enucleation of the tumor was performed. Pathological evaluation of the specimen revealed lymphangioma arising from the kidney. The patient is free of disease after a 3-month follow-up period.