Cystic lymphangioma of the jejunal mesentery in an adult: a case report

Abstract

We herein describe the case of a 27-year-old female, who presented with a large mass of the upper left abdominal cavity discovered incidentally, through an annual health examination. Preoperative studies including abdominal ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging were performed, but they could not accurately determine the nature of the tumor. At laparotomy, a large cystic tumor of the small bowel mesentery was found. Histopathologic examination diagnosed the tumor as a cystic lymphangioma. Although lymphangiomas are rare, especially in the abdomen of adults, they may sometimes present as acute abdomen, causing complications that require emergent surgery.

Figure 1

MRI of the abdomen showing a 16 cm×7 cm×5 cm homogenous multilocular tumor with enhancement by contrast medium (A and B).

Figure 2

Surgical findings (A-C). A large cystic tumor was located in the mesentery of the jejunum, causing compression and stretching of the small bowel. The tumor was not adhered to the small intestine.

Figure 3

Histopathological results revealed that the mesenteric tumor contained numerous dilated lymphatic lumen of varying sizes lined by attenuated endothelial cells (H&E, ×100).