A Case of Appendiceal Endometriosis that Presented as an Appendiceal Mucocele Treated by Partial Excision of the Cecum

Abstract

The patient was a 47-year-old woman who was referred to our hospital for surgical treatment because magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed recurrent uterine fibroids and a cystic lesion suspected to be an appendiceal mucocele. After diagnosing the appendiceal mucocele by imaging and endoscopy, laparotomy was performed for the appendiceal mucocele and uterine fibroids. Partial excision of the cecum was performed, and since malignancy was ruled out by pathological diagnosis during surgery, no additional resection was performed. Immunohistochemical examination was positive for estrogen receptor and CD10, and the lesion was diagnosed as an appendiceal mucocele due to appendiceal endometriosis. Appendiceal endometriosis is infrequent, reported to account for about 3% of cases of endometriosis of the intestine. An appendiceal mucocele is even rarer and is not easily identified in the differential diagnosis. In this report, a case of appendiceal endometriosis that presented as an appendiceal mucocele and was treated by partial excision of the cecum is presented.