The occurrence of an abdominal wall abscess 11 years after appendectomy: report of a case

Most complications after appendectomy occur within 10 days; however, we report herein the unusual case of a patient in whom a wound abscess was detected more than 10 years after an appendectomy. A 26-year-old woman presented to our hospital with nausea and vomiting, pain, and a mass in the right lower abdominal wall. She had undergone an appendectomy 11 years previously. Physical examination revealed a tender mass, 5 cm in diameter, under the appendectomy scar. An abdominal ultrasonography demonstrated a low-echoic mass lesion measuring 9.0 x 5.0 x 2.0 cm. Incision of the connective tissue revealed about 3 ml of cream-colored and odorless fluid in the abscess cavity. Fistulography revealed an abscess cavity not communicating with the bowel lumen. Floss was discovered in the connective tissue and removed. Debridement of the abscess wall was performed and a piece of the wall was sent for histologic examination. Pathological examination revealed panniculitis of the subcutaneous tissue, and panniculitis with granulation and granuloma of the abscess wall. This case report demonstrates that a preoperative diagnosis should be based not on one finding, but on all findings collected, inclusively.