Laparoscopic treatment of an uncommon abdominal localization of Castleman disease

Castleman disease is a rare lymphoproliferative disorder overall localized in the mediastinum and rarely in the abdomen. It appears as a tumor-like mass characterized by a massive growth of lymphoid tissue. Benign forms are usually associated to a good prognosis even if multifocal variants present more aggressive behavior. Two different histologic types have been described: the hyaline vascular and the plasma cell form. The diagnosis is often achieved only at the histologic evaluation of the surgical specimen. Presented here is the rare occurrence of this disease in the abdominal cavity treated by the laparoscopic approach. No postoperative complications were observed. No recurrence has been detected at 12 months CT scan follow-up. Until now, no reports of this kind of treatment have been available in literature.