A Case of Mesenteric Cyst Diagnosed as an Ovarian Cyst

Kazuo Ohashi, Hisao Fujii, Katsuhiko Yamamoto, Saburo Sado, Masayuki Nakagawa, Iwao Watanabe, Sinji Yasuda, Hiroshige Nakano

First Department of Surgery, Nara Medical University

Mesenteric cysts are uncommon enough to excite surgical interest in view of their diverse presentation and lack of a definitive diagnostic test. It is occasionally diagnosed when laparotomy is performed because of its complications such as intestinal obstruction and peritonitis. A case of mesenteric cyst pre-operatively diagnosed as an ovarian cyst is reported. A 16-year-old woman visited our hospital because of an upper abdominal pain and was diagnosed as an ovarian cyst by ultrasonography. Laparotomy revealed a mesenteric cyst of the ileum. The cyst was resected with segment of ileum and post-operative period was uneventful. A review was carried out of mesenteric cysts reported in the past five years in Japan. Correct preoperative diagnosis was made in 35% of the cases, a slight improvement over a previous review. When both ultrasound examination (US) and computed tomography (CT) were performed, the ratio moved up to 62%. Therefore we conclude that the combination of US and CT is an effective method for diagnosing mesenteric cysts.

Key words
mesenteric cyst, ovarian cyst

Reprint requests
Kazuo Ohashi First Department of Surgery, Nara Medical University
480 Shijo-cho, Kashihara, 634 JAPAN

Accepted
July 3, 1991

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