A case of adrenal lymphangioma misdiagnosed as biliary cystadenoma

Ryu, Sung Tae; Lee, Jin Woo; Jeong, Seok; Lee, Don Haeng; Kim, Pum Soo; Kim, Hyung Gil; Kim, Young Soo

Abstract

Lymphangioma is resulted from faulty development or ectasia of lymphatic vessels. Adrenal lymphangioma was reported first in 1965 and very rare with approximately 20 cases having been reported so far in worldwide. Adrenal lymphangioma is usually asymptomatic and most often identified incidentally at imaging study or autopsy. If symptoms do occur, they are related to size and position of the lesion and contain fever, abdominal pain, or palpable mass. Laboratory findings are nonspecific and usually not helpful as a diagnostic tool. Although ultrasonography and computerized tomography play a major role in the exploration of adrenal cysts, the nature of unexpected adrenal cysts is confirmed by histology. Recently, we experienced a case of 50-year-old female patient, who complained right upper abdominal pain and suspected with biliary cystadenoma in radiologic studies. The surgical enucleation was performed and final diagnosis was adrenal lymphangioma. Considering of rare incidence, we report a case of lymphangioma arising from right adrenal gland with a review of the relevant literature.