[Mesenteric panniculitis simulating malignancy].
BACKGROUND
Panniculitis mesenteritis is a rare, benign, and chronic fibrosing inflammation disease with unknown aetiology that affects the mesentery of small bowel and colon.


OBJECTIVE
To report a new case of this entity and to highlight its diagnostic difficulties especially when it affects the mesocolon.


METHODS
A 37 years-old women presented with chronic abdominal pain; physical examination found mass of left ilaca fossa. Closcopy and abdominal CT scan showed a thickness of bowel wall with negative biopsies. The patient underwent a colectomy. Histologic examination concluded to the diagnosis of Mesenteric panniculitis without malignant lesion.


CONCLUSIONS
Mesenteric panniculitis is a rare pathology which diagnosis is difficult to establish. It can simulate malignancy. A better knowledge of its clinical and radiological features could ovoid unnecessary digestive resection.
Service de Chirurgie A, Hôpital La Rabta.
Amine
A
Daghfous
Haykel
H
Bedioui
Oussama
O
Baraket
Lamia
L
Kallel
Sofiene
S
Ayadi
Mohamed
M
Jouini
Montasser
M
Kacem
Zoubeir
Z
Bensafta
D015746:Abdominal Pain / Q000209:etiology; D000328:Adult; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015436:Panniculitis, Peritoneal / Q000175:diagnosis*; D010534:Peritoneal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis