A Case of Desmoid Tumor Arisen in the Small Bowel Mesentery

Takuya Okawa, Yoshiro Nihei, Tosiki Yamashita, Tetsuji Hayashi and Ken-ichi Sugihara

Digestive Surgery, Graduate School, Tokyo Medical and Dental University

Desmoid tumor of the small bowel mesentery is rare, most often occurring in patients with histories of familial polyposis coli, operation, trauma, and pregnancy. We report a case of desmoid tumor of the mesentery of the small intestine. A 58-year-old man reporting an abdominal tumor and abdominal pain was referred to us based on a diagnosis of abdominal tumor. He had undergone surgery for esophageal cancer at age 56. Abdominal ultrasonography, CT, magnetic resonance imaging, and angiography showed a relatively discrete tumor in the mesentery of the small intestine. Solid tumor of the small bowel mesentery was diagnosed and the 110×65×58 mm tumor was removed. The tumor histologically consisted of differentiated fibroblasts and copious collagen fibers, without karyomitosis. Collagen fibers stained blue in Masson staining and were positive for Vimentin staining, confirming a desmoid tumor. It is often difficult to preoperatively diagnose mesenteric tumors. When we encounter solid mesenteric tumor without tumor vascular imaging as in this case, desmoid tumor should be considered a possibility.

Key words
desmoid tumor, mesenteric tumor

Reprint requests
Takuya Okawa Digestive Surgery, Tokyo Medical and Dental University Graduate School
1-5-45 Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8519 JAPAN

Accepted
July 23, 2003

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