A pathologic study of abdominal lymphangiomas

Abstract

Abdominal lymphangiomas are uncommon angiomatous tumor occurring mainly in childhood. This is a retrospective clinicopathologic study of 17 cases of abdominal lymphangioma. The patients included are five children and 12 adults, with a mean age at initial presentation of 30.7 years (age ranges 3-63). The locations of the tumors were mesentery (5), retroperitoneum (4), colon (3), omentum (3), mesocolon (1) and gallbladder (1). Infiltrative growth was more common pattern than entirely circumscribed pattern. Masses were mostly multilocular cysts and contained chyle or serous fluid. On immunohistochemical staining, 16 cases were reactive for either CD31 or factor VIII-related antigen. These fact would suggest that intra-abdominal lymphangiomas simulate the immunohistochemical features of collecting lymphatics. Follow up was possible in 12 cases for 3-50 months (mean 19 months) and only one patient showed local recurrence. Although abdominal lymphangiomas are rare in adulthood and correct preoperative diagnosis is difficult, awareness of such a possibility in adulthood will contribute to make a correct preoperative diagnosis.

Cavernous mesenteric lymphangiomatosis mimicking metastasis in a patient with rectal cancer: A case report

“…About 90% are diagnosed within the first two years of their existence [1,2] . In adults, gastrointestinal tract involvement of mesenteric lymphangioma is very rare, the distal ileal mesentery is most frequently involved [3] .…”

“…Gastrointestinal and mesenteric lymphangioma or lymphangiomatosis are extremely rare in adults [1][2][3] . A lymphangioma usually appears as a partially septated, cystic mass on imaging studies including ultrasound, computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).…”

Gallbladder lymphangioma: A case report and review of the literature

“…A lymphangioma arising from the gallbladder is extremely rare, representing only 0.8%-1% of all intraabdominal lymphangiomas [1][2][3][4][5] , and only a few cases have been reported. Lymphangiomas are classified as simple, cavernous, and cystic types based on their histological findings [3,6,[9][10][11] . The simple type is usually situated superficially in the skin and is composed of small thinwalled lymphatic vessels.…”

“…The cavernous type is composed of dilated lymphatic vessels and lymphoid stroma, and has a connection with spaces of various normal adjacent lymphatics. The cystic type consists of lymphatic spaces of various sizes that contain fascicles of smooth muscle and collagen bundles, but has no connection with adjacent normal lymphatics [11,12] . The etiology of lymphangiomas could be explained by several theories [1,6] .…”

Lymphangiomatosis of the sigmoid colon - a rare cause of lower gastrointestinal bleeding: A case report and review of the literature

“…The majority of lymphangiomas usually occur in the head, neck regions and axillary areas, but rarely in the colon (2)(3)(4). Colonic lymphangioma used to be considered an extremely rare disease, but recently, along with the increasing prevalence of endoscopy and endoscopic ultrasound (EUS), it has become more commonly encountered and has been reported more frequently (5,6).…”