Primary mucinous adenocarcinoma of the appendix with bilateral Krukenberg ovarian tumors.

After experiencing intermittent episodes of abdominal pain for two years, a 28-year-old woman developed partial small bowel obstruction. Barium enema and colonoscopy revealed the source of obstruction to be an apparent cecal carcinoma. At exploratory laparotomy a primary adenocarcinoma of the appendix with bilateral Krukenberg ovarian metastases was found. This is a rare occurrence and, to our knowledge, the first well-documented case in the English literature. These case also demonstrates difficulties in the preoperative diagnosis of adenocarcinoma of the appendix.