A case of strangulation ileus caused by mucocele of appendix

Abstract

Mucocele of the appendix is a cystic,dilated appendiz filled with mucin. We report a case of strangulation ileus caused by a mucocele of the appendix without any adhesions.
A 94–year–old woman visited our hospital because of acute abdominal pain was diagnosed as having intestinal obstruction. At emergency laparotomy, the ileum was surrounded and strangulated by the appendix itself, and there was a cyst at the top of the appendix. The cyst had played a plumb of the pendulum and made the appendix itself wound around the ileum, causing ischemia. Histopathological study revealed that the cyst was composed of column epithelium.
It is rare that mucocele of the appendix causes strangulation ileus and this is the 16^th case of the disease in Japan, as far as we could review.