Mucocele of the appendix: a report of five cases
2004
Mucocele of the appendix is an uncommon disorder,
characterized by a cystic dilatation of the lumen. It
is often diagnosed clinically from signs and symptoms of
acute appendicitis or, if it is asymptomatic, as an incidental
finding during ultrasonography, computed tomography,
and radiographic examinations of the gastrointestinal
tract, or laparotomy. The incidence of mucocele ranges
from 0.2% to 0.3% of all appendectomy specimens. We
report five cases of appendiceal mucocele (all women,
aged 19–90 years), who were admitted from January 1993
to January 2003 to our hospital. These cases represent
0.29% of the 1720 appendectomies performed during this
period. Three of the patients were symptomatic and had
appendectomies. The final diagnosis for mucocele was
given at laparotomy. No colon neoplasms were identified
during surgery, and subsequent colonoscopic examinations
were also negative. The other two patients were asymptomatic
of appendiceal tumor. Colonoscopy revealed two
colonic malignant tumors in one patient and an adenocarcinoma
of the sigmoid colon in the other. Mucocele of the
appendix was diagnosed pre–operatively by ultrasound and
computed tomography. One of the two patients underwent
a right hemicolectomy and sigmoidectomy; the other one
underwent an appendectomy, cecostomy and sigmoidectomy.
Four of the patients recovered and are doing well
today; one patient died on the twenty–fifth postoperative
day. The most common symptom of mucocele is abdominal
pain, although many patients may be asymptomatic.
Mucocele is often associated with concomitant colon cancer,
thus patients with this tumor should be systematically
checked for other colonic lesions.
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