A Case of Mesenteric Panniculitis in Pelvic Cavity.

Yoon, Seok Geun; Lee, Jeong Heon; Kim, Jong Duk

Case Report

Korean Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology 2005;48(8):2016-2020.
Published online August 1, 2005.

A Case of Mesenteric Panniculitis in Pelvic Cavity.

Seok Geun Yoon, Jeong Heon Lee, Jong Duk Kim

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Chonbuk National University Medical School, Jeonju, Korea. jh.lee@chonbuk.ac.kr

Abstract

Mesenteric panniculitis is a infrequent, benign idiopathic inflammatory disease of the mesenteric fat tissues. It is characterized by infiltration of lipid-laden macrophages and associated with variable degree of inflammation and fibrosis. Common symptoms are abdominal pain and palpable mass. The diagnosis is made by ultrasound, computed tomogram (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), combined with the histologic findings. However, definitive diagnosis is difficult in many cases and it is often misdiagnosed as abdominal tumor before laparotomy is performed. Because mesenteric panniculitis can occur in pelvic cavity, it should be differentiated from tumor of pelvic organ. We report a case of mesenteric panniculitis of rectosigmoid colon mimicking pelvic tumor with a brief review of literatures.

Key Words: Mesentery, Panniculitis, Pelvic cavity