[A rare ovarian pseudotumor: massive edema of the ovary]

The authors report a case of massive ovarian edema which declared itself by pain in the abdomen and pelvis and an ovarian mass measuring 13 cm in diameter, occurring in a 22-year-old woman. Since it was not possible to make a diagnosis by any frozen-section examination, histology was carried out on the ovary that had been removed. This showed that the stroma of the ovary had become separated by massive edema preserving the albuginea and the superficial cortex. This case history of massive edema of the ovary shows the characteristics of this ovarian pseudotumour as described in the literature. The principal differential diagnoses of the condition are oedematous fibroma, and myxoma of the ovary. Apart from the fact that torsion of the adnexae can occur in some of these cases, the pathogenesis is still unexplained. When an ovarian tumour is found in a young woman a frozen-section examination must be carried out to make the diagnosis and perhaps avoid oophorectomy, particularly when untwisting a torsion can lead to resorption of the edema.