Abstract
Mucocele of the appendix is a rare disease, and dissemination of neoplastic cells and mucoid material in the abdominal cavity, caused by appendiceal perforation, clinically results in pseudomyxoma peritonei. The present study was made on nine cases of mucocele (seven cases of adenoma, one case of adenocarcinoma and one case of hyperplasia) of the appendix treated at the hospital in the recent 16 years. They were from 35 to 65 years old, and the male-to-female ratio was 3 to 6. Six patients were asymptomatic when the lesion was detected. Two patients had right lower abdominal pain and one had abdominal fullness. Preoperative diagnosis was successfully made in six out of nine cases, and the case of peritoneal pseudomyxoma was diagnosed before surgery. Operative procedures included ileocecal resection in four cases, partial cecectomy in four cases and appendectomy in one case. Laparoscopic surgery was performed safely in five cases. All nine patients are doing well, but thirteen months later, one patient with pseudomyxoma of adenocarcinoma was performed the second surgery because of the recurrence. We considered the treatment strategies for the disease from a review of 411 Japanese cases.
