Mesenteric cysts in Nigerians

Mesenteric cysts are uncommon and are said to be rarer among blacks than in caucasians. We report six mesenteric cysts seen in five patients over a 9 1/2 year period with an incidence of one in 48,497 hospital admissions. there were three males and two females. Ultrasonography was carried out in three of our five cases. There is need to include mesenteric cyst in the differential diagnosis of an abdominal mass. Surgery was the mainstay of treatment. At laparotomy, five of the cysts were found in the mesentery of the small bowel. Simple enucleation was done in one patient while cyst resection with adjacent bowel was carried out in three patients. There were two cysts in the youngest patient and these were internally drained. All the patients did well with uneventful post-operative period with no mortality. Follow up had been from 14 months to 6 years.