Publication:

Mucinous adenocarcinoma masquerading as acute appendicitis

Appendiceal neoplasms are a rare entity with an incidence of unexpected findings in surgical specimen ranging as low as 0.7-1.7%. Carcinoid tumor of the appendix is the most common among all tumors while adenocarcinomas are rare and occur in 0.08-0.1% of appendectomies. It usually involves the base of the appendix and is treated by right hemicolectomy. As most carcinomas present as acute appendicitis, high degree of suspicion is required for diagnosis of neoplasm. Histopathology plays a vital role as it is the only way to confirm diagnosis. We present to you a case of 45-year-old male who came to the ER with pain and was diagnosed with acute appendicitis. Emergency appendectomy was done and on opening the specimen a mucocoele was seen which was positive for malignancy in histopathology.