Benign multicystic mesothelioma of peritoneum complicating acute appendicitis in a man: a case report

BACKGROUND Benign multicystic mesothelioma is a rare pathology. Few cases are reported in the medical literature and acute presentation is extremely uncommon. CASE PRESENTATION We describe an acute clinical presentation of the neoplasm that revealed itself with signs and symptoms attributable to acute appendicitis in a 41-year-old white man. Abdominal echography and computed tomography scans demonstrated the presence of a mass in direct contiguity with cecal fundus, but diagnosis remained unclear. Our patient underwent surgery and complete removal of the neoplasm. Only a definitive histological examination defined the nature of the lesion. No signs of relapse were demonstrated 1 year after the operation. CONCLUSIONS We showed that an acute presentation of a benign neoplasm represents a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge for the surgeon, because of the difficult differential diagnosis that acute presentation can sometimes pose and the trouble that an emergence treatment can imply.