Giant Cystic Lymphangioma of the Transverse Mesocolon in a 7-Year-Old Child: A Case Report.
Mohamed Abdullahi Awale, Mariam Hassan Ali, Intisar Ahmed Abdi et al.
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Case in brief
A 7-year-old girl presented with several weeks of vomiting, abdominal pain and progressive distension. Examination found a large abdominal mass; laboratory results were unremarkable. Imaging showed a multiloculated cystic mass, initially interpreted as ovarian, but did not establish its origin. At laparotomy, the lesion arose from the transverse mesocolon and extended toward the greater curvature of the stomach. It was completely excised without bowel resection, and histopathology confirmed cystic lymphangioma. Recovery was uncomplicated, with no recurrence during 8 months of follow-up.
What made this case unusual
The very large mesocolonic lymphangioma was initially interpreted on imaging as an ovarian cyst, and its site of origin remained unclear until surgery.
Diagnostic / clinical pearl
In a child with a large multiloculated intra-abdominal cystic mass, consider mesocolonic lymphangioma even when imaging suggests an adnexal origin; preoperative imaging may not establish the lesion’s site of origin.