Preoperatively Diagnosed Mucocele of the Appendix
Gh. Rojnoveanu, Gh. Ghidirim, I. Mishin, M. Vozian, A. MishinaImage Quiz for surgeons, no. 3, 2014
Mucocele of the appendix is an infrequent entity, characterizedby distension of the lumen due to accumulation of mucoidsubstance and is rarely diagnosed preoperatively. If untreated, mucocele may rupture producing a potentially fatal entityknown as pseudomyxoma peritonei. The type of surgicaltreatment is related to the dimensions and the histology of themucocele. Appendectomy is used for simple mucocele or forcystadenoma. Right hemi-colectomy is recommended forcystadenocarcinoma. In this paper, we report a case of anasymptomatic 37-year-old woman in whom mucocele wasfound on a routine ultrasound examination and preoperativecomputed tomography scan. Surgery revealed a big appendixmeasuring 84 mm in length and 40 mm in diameter. The finalpathologic diagnosis was simple mucocele.
