PRIMER EPIPLOIC APPENDAGITIS MIMICKING APPENDIX DUPLICATION

Abstract

Primary epiploic appendagitis (PEA) is a rare condition characterized by inflammation of subserosal colonic adipose tissue. It can mimic acute appendicitis or acute diverticulitis in elderly patients. Though previously relatively rare, surgical diagnosis is now being more frequently employed with an increasing use of computerized tomographic scans (CT) and ultrasound. We report here on a case of PEA mimicking an appendiceal duplication with acute ap- pendicitis. To the best of our knowledge, this is a very rare clinical entity in the literature. A 29-year-old female pa- tient was admitted to the emergency department. She had abdominal pain, was vomiting, and suffered from anorex- ia. The operative finding was double acute appendicitis in appendix duplication. PEA may mimic acute appendicitis and can be considered as an appendix duplication caused by a diagnostic dilemma. It may not be possible to diffe- rentiate during an operation; the distinction can be made only by histologic examination. Although both are very rare clinical entities, misdiagnosis of appendix duplication can cause serious health issues, and critical medico-legal issues must also be kept in mind.