Presentation
Acute abdominal pain
Patient Data
The main finding is a heterogeneous mass involving the terminal ileum with slight focal upstream dilatation of the bowel, highly suggestive of a carcinoid tumour. Moreover, there is some fat stranding involving the root of the mesentery as well as small lymph nodes. Mesenteric metastasis are not entirely excluded; fortuitous mesenteric panniculitis seems more probable.
Non-characterizable hepatic hypodensities are seen.
Case Discussion
The histopathological diagnosis confirmed the carcinoid tumour. Mesenteric panniculitis is classically described in the differential diagnosis of carcinoid tumour, which can present as a mesenteric desmoplastic reaction with lymphadenopathy. However, in this case, mesenteric panniculitis was considered more probable.