Retroperitoneal cystic lymphangioma section imaging in two cases, and review of the literature.

Two patients with retroperitoneal cystic lymphangioma are reported with a review of the medical literature. In one, the patient was asymptomatic from the lesion but had a computed tomography (CT) and an ultrasound to evaluate the extent of disease with a known carcinoma of the colon. The second patient presented with an acute abdominal pain requiring surgical management. CT on this patient showed multiple cystlike cavities filled with fluid, in a retroperitoneal location. The preoperative diagnosis of retroperitoneal cystic lymphangioma was confirmed at surgery. Magnetic resonance (MR) performed on the second patient gave better delineation of craniocaudal extent and showed one of the cysts to have probable hemorrhage.