Castleman disease of the pararenal retroperitoneum: Report of a case

Abstract

We describe herein the case of a 21-year-old woman in whom Castleman disease of the pararenal retroperitoneum was successfully resected. The patient was referred to our hospital from another hospital for investigation of a retroperitoneal mass in the right middle abdomen. Ultrasonography, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated a large retroperitoneal mass with heterogeneous imaging characteristics. An aortogram showed arterial feeding to this mass from a few lumbar arteries. Although a definitive preoperative diagnosis could not be made, surgical excision was performed and histopathological examination confirmed a diagnosis of the hyaline type of Castleman disease. The patient had an uneventful postoperative course and was discharged 14 days after her operation. She now leads an active social life without any signs of sequelae or recurrence 14 months later. To the best of our knowledge, only 2% (6/315) of all reported cases of Castleman disease have been located in the pararenal and retroperitoneal area.