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Paragangliomas are extra-adrenal chromaffin tumours that develop at the expense of neuroectodermal cells of the autonomous nervous system. Retroperitoneal and nonfunctioning forms are very rare. They are often asymptomatic and can reach a substantial size. Treatment usually involves surgery with the goal of total excision. We report the case of a patient who presented with indistinct abdominal pain. This case demonstrates how the diagnosis of retroperitoneal nonfunctioning paragangliomas relies mostly on histological results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hepatic cystadenoma is a rare benign cystic tumor; it tends to recur after incomplete surgical resection and has malignant potential. We report the case of a patient with a ruptured biliary cystadenoma in the common bile duct that caused diagnostic and therapeutic problems., Case Presentation: A 34-year-old North African woman, admitted for angiocholitis, was operated 2 months before for a hepatic cystic lesion taken for a hydatid cyst compressing her common bile duct. The clinical and the complementary examinations converged toward recurrence of the hydatid cyst for which a surgical resection was decided. Intraoperative findings as well as the histological study of the "membranes" extracted from her common bile duct indicated a hepatic cystadenoma., Conclusions: The rarity of hepatic cystadenoma and the non-specificity of clinical and imaging signs make diagnosis of hepatic cystadenoma difficult, especially when it is complicated by rupture in the bile ducts; this contributes to a delay in diagnosis and an inadequate therapeutic approach.

Wall endometriosis is a rare clinical entity whose pathophysiology remains unclear. It occurs most frequently after gynecologic or obstetric surgery. We report the case of a patient with cyclic pain at the caesarean section scar. Clinical examination showed a 5 cm mass in the right iliac fossa. Tomodensitometry revealed a tissue density mass (45mm on the major axis). Hence, the decision to perform a wide excision of the lesion. Anatomo-pathological examination confirmed the diagnosis of parietal endometriosis. Postoperative sequelae were simple with a follow-up period of 20 months with no recurrence of the mass or of the pain. Our study highlights the characteristics of this disease to allow the health practitioner to understand the importance of diagnosis, of early treatment of this disease as well as of the possibility to prevent it during each gynecologic or obstetric surgery.

Retroperitoneal contamination may occur during the natural history of hydatid disease. Primary hydatid cyst of the retroperitoneum is extremely rare. The authors report a case of a giant retroperitoneal hydatid cyst. Clinicians and surgeons must be aware of this possibility and follow a policy of nonsystematic puncture of an abdominal cyst and avoid spillage during surgery. Symptoms are related to the size, location, or ensuing complications of a cyst. Its occurrence should be strongly suspected ahead of any abdominal cyst, especially in an endemic area, where it may act as a parasite. Total and careful surgical excision is the gold-standard therapy., (Copyright 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

A primary hemangiopericytoma (HP) of the bone is rare, because the vast majority of these tumors arise in soft tissue. This report presents a case of a hemangiopericytoma in the sacrum (S1-S2) with extension to the retrorectal space. Only a few cases of osseous hemangiopericytomas in the sacrum and involving the retrorectal space have so far been reported. The difficult diagnosis of HP and the surgical strategy was chosen according to the location of the lesion in the sacrum and retrorectal space. A local excision was indicated. A sacral resection should be considered for tumors below S4. This report demonstrated the safety of this strategy. Adjuvant radiotherapy is useful in HP. The value of chemotherapy is still doubtful, although patients with high-grade tumors or metastatic spread seem to gain substantial benefit. Due to the often unpredictable behavior of this neoplasm, extended follow-up is strongly recommended.