The role of laparoscopy in the diagnosis of primary peritoneal mesothelioma

: In this study we demonstrate the usefulness of laparoscopy on the diagnosis of some unusual causes of ascites, such as primary mesothelioma, usually overlooked by other diagnostic modalities, like ultrasound, computed tomography and cytology of the ascitic fluid. We describe three cases of primary peritoneal mesothelioma among 27 patients with exudative ascites submitted to laparoscopy at our institution during the past two years. The final diagnosis inaccessible to the conventional diagnostic modalities, was reached only by laparoscopy.