Giant abdominal cyst in a young female patient: A case report

Most abdominal cysts derive from the ovary. The range of differential diagnoses is wide. Unfortunately, imaging studies not always determine its origin.

The authors present the case of a 20-year-old female patient, admitted to the emergency department due to abdominal pain and distension, whose imaging studies revealed a gigantic abdominal cyst of unknown origin. She underwent an exploratory laparotomy that disclosed an ovarian cyst that was removed by a left adnexectomy. It weighed 10Kg and was 60 cm wide. The pathology report showed a mucinous cyst adenoma.

Once a patient present with an abdominal cyst, one should always consider the extensive list of differential diagnoses. In premenopausal women, ovarian cysts are very frequent. Cysts may grow to considerable size. Our patient was symptomatic, malnourished and dehydrated. Neither ultrasonography nor computed tomography were able to define the origin of the cyst. Persistent ovarian cysts larger than 10 cm, particularly if symptomatic, should be considered for surgery.

Progressive abdominal distension in premenopausal women should raise suspicion of an ovarian tumor, such as mucinous cystadenoma. These tumours are benign, but when their size is considerable, complications do arise and their surgical removal may be life threatening.