Giant mesenteric cystic lymphangioma in an infant presenting with acute bowel obstruction.

From the *Department of Pediatric Surgery, University Hospital of Santiago and the Departments of †Pediatric Gastroenterology and ‡Pediatric Surgery, Children’s Hospital Teresa Herrera, Hospital Juan Canalejo, A Coruña, Spain A bdominal cystic lymphangiomas (ACLs) are rare congenital benign malformations of the lymphatic system that are usually located in the small-bowel mesentery, followed by the omentum, mesocolon and retroperitoneum. Most lymphangiomas are found in the head and neck; intraabdominal locations are very unusual. Abdominal cystic lymphangiomas are more frequent in boys (5:2) with a mean age at presentation of 2 years. Clinical presentation varies from asymptomatic masses to acute abdominal pain. We report the unusual case of a 14-month-old boy with a giant, cystic, small bowel mesenteric lymphangioma who presented with intestinal occlusion.