title: A case of symptomatic mass in the right iliac fossa: a Bermuda Triangle which often lies the right diagnosis.
abstract: Disease of the iliac fossa can often be accompanied by non-specific symptoms and some of these are exclusively caused by the compression of bulky masses of other neighboring structures. In young women a differential diagnosis is a non trivial task as several possible causes have to be taken into account. Thus, intraligamentary tumors, which are extremely rare finding, are frequently confused with uterus, ovary or intestinal tumors. Even if myomas are the most benign tumors of the female genital tract, broad ligament leiomyomas are an unusual finding in women of reproductive age. These tumors are often asymptomatic until they reach a volume likely to cause symptoms related to the mass pressure. An accurate patient's anamnesis and examination serve as a guide to further examinations. Ultrasound is the first line imaging as it can show ovarian or other pelvic mass and doesn't involve exposure to radiations in young patients, who can be pregnant. We describe the clinical presentation and imaging features of a broad ligament leiomyoma, which presented as an inguinal mass in a patient with a right iliac fossa pain. We also report our diagnostic process performing the differential diagnosis with other potential pathologies of RIF. In these cases, a preoperative disease classification discriminating the benign or malignant tumor nature is closely linked to the proper patient management.
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Panarese
authors.forename: Daniele
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pironi
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pontone
authors.forename: Maurizio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vendettuoli
authors.forename: Flaminia
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: De Cristofaro
authors.forename: Manila
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Antonelli
authors.forename: Annamaria
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Romani
authors.forename: Angelo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Filippini
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001956:Broad Ligament; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D005833:Genital Neoplasms, Female / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D007889:Leiomyoma / Q000175:diagnosis*