Appendicular mucocele: a rare simulator of acute appendicitis

Abstract

Appendicular mucoceles are rare, with an estimated incidence of 0.2-0.3% of appendectomies and less than 0.5% among all digestive tumors. They constitute a dilation of the vermiform appendix produced by intraluminal accumulation of mucus, secondary to the obstruction of the lumen and slowly, and can reach a large size. We report the case of a mucinous tumor of the vermiform appendix as an incidental finding in a patient with acute appendicitis. Clinical case: A 39-year-old patient with a history of arterial hypertension, who came to the Surgical emergency service reporting abdominal pain of 36 hours of evolution, in the right iliac fossa, with anorexia, vomiting and fever of 38oC. Acute appendicitis was diagnosed and in the transoperative period an extensive appendiceal tumor was observed that involved the base and extended to the cecum, with signs of inflammation at the tip. Histopathological analysis reported a mucinous cystadenoma of the appendix. The finding of mucinous tumors of the appendix are often incidental, and can present itself simulating the picture of acute appendicitis, and its treatment is always surgical due to its potential for malignant transformation and the prevention of complications that it can produce.