A Case of Duplication of the Appendix Diagnosed after Laparoscopic Interval Appendectomy for Appendicitis with Retroperitoneal Abscess

Abstract

A 64-year-old man who presented with right lower quadrant abdominal pain and fever was diagnosed with acute appendicitis with a retroperitoneal abscess by an abdominal CT scan. Transretroperitoneal CT-guided drainage was performed for the abscess. Following disappearance of the abscess, laparoscopic interval appendectomy was performed. Histopathology disclosed the presence of a duplicated appendix which was parallel with the appendix and had not communicated with it.

Duplication of the appendix is a very rare anomaly. Although the anomaly has been described in the Japanese literature, no cases presented with retroperitoneal abscess formation have been reported so far. Furthermore, in our case, percutaneous drainage for the retroperitoneal abscess followed by laparoscopic interval appendectomy (LIA) was useful. This paper deals with our case, together with a review of the literature.