Cystic lymphatic malformation of the falciform ligament: a rare cause of abdominal mass

Tariq O Abbas¹, Adel Ismail¹, Emran Amir^2
1Paediatric Surgery Department, ²Pathology Department, Hamad General Hospital, Doha, Qatar

Introduction: Lymphatic malformations are benign proliferations of the lymphatic vessels that occur most frequently in the skin of the axilla and neck. However, they can also occur in the mediastinum and retroperitoneum, and very rarely in the abdominal cavity.
Case report: An 11-year-old male who presented with an intra-abdominal cyst is described here. Laparoscopic exploration showed that it was a cystic mass of the falciform ligament and it was resected laparoscopically. Histopathology confirmed the swelling to be a lymphatic malformation. To the authors' knowledge, this is only the second report of a pediatric patient with a lymphatic malformation in the falciform ligament.
Conclusion: Intra-abdominal cystic lymphatic malformations should be considered in the differential diagnosis of any intra-abdominal cystic mass. Management is surgical excision.

Keywords: lymphatic malformations, intra-abdominal, falciform ligament