title: Endometriosis mimicking soft tissue tumors: diagnosis and treatment.
abstract: The clinical manifestations, the radiologic appearance and the treatment of four women with extragenital endometriosis of the abdominal wall are presented. In two patients endometriosis was found adherent with the structures of the inguinal canal and in the other two the tumors infiltrated structures of the abdominal wall. Symptoms included cyclical pain and palpable subcutaneous masses fixed to the surrounding tissues. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging failed to differentiate the lesions from other soft tissue tumors. Resection to healthy tissue margins is the treatment of choice, in order to avoid local recurrence.
authors.affiliation: Second Department of Surgery, Areteion University Hospital, Athens Medical School, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Marinis
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vassiliou
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kannas
authors.forename: T K
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Theodosopoulos
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kondi-Pafiti
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kairi
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Smyrniotis
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004715:Endometriosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D012983:Soft Tissue Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*