Surgery of a giant mucocele of the appendix

Mucocele of the appendix is a rare pathology, which occurs in less than 0.5% of all appendectomies, characterized by accumulation of mucoid material inside the appendix. The type of surgical resection (appendectomy vs. colectomy) is often based on the intraoperative findings. We report a case of a 58-year-old man, admitted to our hospital for recurrent episodes of abdominal pain for over a year and bowel sub occlusion in the last three days. Laboratory tests, abdominal ultrasound, CT scan of abdomen and surgical resection of the cecum with ileocolic anastomosis were performed. The patient was discharged on the seventh postoperative day with a histological diagnosis of mucinous hyperplasia of the appendix. The size of the mucocele (11x5 cm) require careful evaluation in order to decide the most appropriate type of surgery.