[Skip to Navigation]
Sign In
Special Feature
December 21, 2009

Image of the Month—Quiz Case

Author Affiliations

Author Affiliations:Departments of Surgery (Drs Clarke and Lambrianides) and Radiology (Dr Lisle), Redcliffe Hospital, Redcliffe, Queensland, Australia.

 

CARL E.BREDENBERGMD

Arch Surg. 2009;144(12):1185-1186. doi:10.1001/archsurg.2009.215-a

A 70-year-old male patient was admitted to the hospital on 2 separate occasions with small-bowel obstruction, which settled spontaneously with conservative management. In the course of investigation, a colonoscopy showed severe diverticular disease of the sigmoid colon and a small tubular adenoma of low-grade dysplasia at the hepatic flexure. A computed tomographic scan showed a large fluid-filled structure extending inferomedially from the cecal pole (Figure 1). An elective open appendectomy was performed (Figure 2). The wall of the appendix was smooth and thickened with no areas of roughening and no externally attached mucous. No fecalith was felt. His postsurgical recovery was complicated by a left middle cerebral artery territory infarct.

Figure 1. 
Computed tomographic scan showing a large fluid-filled structure extending inferomedially from the cecal pole.

Computed tomographic scan showing a large fluid-filled structure extending inferomedially from the cecal pole.

Figure 2. 
The operative specimen.

The operative specimen.

What Is the Diagnosis?

A. Mucocoele of the appendix

B. Mucinous cystadenoma

C. Mucinous cystadenocarcinoma

D. Myxoglobulosis of the appendix

Answer

×