Sung Won Jung, Dong-Sik Kim, Young Dong Yu, Sung Ock Suh. Korea University Medical Center
A 27-year-old woman without any relevant medical history was admitted to our hospital with an abdominal tumor that had found in the medical check without any symptom.
Retroperitoneal lipoma was diagnosed by abdominal ultra-sonography and computed tomography. We successfully excised the tumor laparoscopically. The tumor was revealed retroperitoneal dermoid cyst by pathologic report.
Dermoid cyst is a cystic teratoma that contains developmentally mature skin complete with hair follicles and sweat glands, sometimes clumps of long hair, and often pockets of sebum, blood, fat, bone, nails, teeth, eyes, cartilage, and thyroid tissue.
Because it contains mature tissue, a dermoid cyst is almost always benign. The rare malignant dermoid cyst usually develops squamous cell carcinoma in adults; in infants and children it usually develops an endodermal sinus tumor.
Treatment for dermoid cyst is complete surgical removal, preferably in one piece and without any spillage of cyst contents, and can be performed laparoscopically in selected patients.