CT and MRI of Retroperitoneal Edema Associated With Large Uterine Leiomyomas

Abstract

Two cases of retroperitoneal edema surrounding the left ovarian vein that were associated with large uterine leiomyoma are presented. This finding was not associated with any specific lateralizing symptoms or with any evidence of malignancy. One patient underwent hysterectomy with surgical exploration of the retroperitoneum that confirmed the absence of malignancy. The CT and MR findings in this entity are described and possible etiological mechanisms discussed. Recognition that large leiomyoma can be associated with benign retroperitoneal edema may help avoid inappropriate management.

Epidemiology, Presentation, and Management of Retroperitoneal Leiomyomata: Systematic Literature Review and Case Report

“…This combination identified 77 results when limited to "human" and "English" language articles. Of these, 60 were excluded: 31 for pathology other than leiomyoma [5,8 -36], 9 for nonretroperitoneal leiomyomata [37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45], 9 for intravenous or intracardiac leiomyomatosis [46 -55], 5 for leiomyomata of known gastrointestinal or renal origin [56 -60], 5 for containing review material only [61][62][63][64][65] and 1 for restriction to the biochemical analysis of smooth muscle tumors [66], leaving 17 publications for review [2,6,7,[67][68][69][70][71][72][73][74][75][76][77][78][79][80]. In addition, 7 articles were found [3,4,[81][82][83][84][85] through the bibliographies of other articles providing a total of 24 articles.…”