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Differentiating a large abdominal cystic lymphangioma from multicystic mesothelioma: report of a case

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Abstract

We report a case of retroperitoneal cystic lymphangioma in a 30-year-old woman who presented with abdominal distention and pain. Imaging studies revealed a large, thin-walled multicystic mass occupying the whole abdomen. Based on a preoperative diagnosis of multicystic mesothelioma, we performed laparotomy, which revealed a tumor arising from the gastropancreatic ligament in the posterior wall of the omental bursa. We resected the tumor completely, without the adjacent viscera. The final pathological diagnosis was cystic lymphangioma, based on the immunohistochemical findings of positive CD31 and CD34 expression, the presence of smooth muscle confirmed by smooth muscle antigen and desmin, and negative calretinin, WT-1 and cytokeratins 5/6 expression. Multicystic mesotheliomas and cystic lymphangiomas are so similar in morphology that immunohistochemical staining should be fully utilized to differentiate them.

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Conflict of interest

We have no potential conflicts of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery, Kameda Medical Center, 929 Higashi-cho, Kamogawa, 296-8602, Japan

    Hiroshi Nagata, Makio Mike & Nobuyasu Kano

  2. Department of Pathology, Kameda Medical Center, 929 Higashi-cho, Kamogawa, 296-8602, Japan

    Makoto Narita

  3. Department of Surgery, Kishiwada Tokushukai Hospital, 4-27-1 Kamori-cho, Kishiwada, 596-8522, Japan

    Yutaka Yonemura, Emel Canbay & Haruaki Ishibashi

  4. Department of General Surgery, Kocaeli-Delince Education and Research Hospital, Kocaeli, 41900, Turkey

    Emel Canbay

Authors
  1. Hiroshi Nagata
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  2. Yutaka Yonemura
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  3. Emel Canbay
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  4. Haruaki Ishibashi
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  5. Makoto Narita
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  6. Makio Mike
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  7. Nobuyasu Kano
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Correspondence to Hiroshi Nagata.

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Nagata, H., Yonemura, Y., Canbay, E. et al. Differentiating a large abdominal cystic lymphangioma from multicystic mesothelioma: report of a case. Surg Today 44, 1367–1370 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00595-013-0654-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00595-013-0654-x

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