Caecal lipoma causing acute appendicitis-a case report.

Colonic lipoma is a rare mesenchymal tumour of the gastrointestinal tract that is composed of well-differentiated adipose tissue (1). The commonest site of colonic lipomas is the ascending colon (45%), followed by the sigmoid colon (30.3%), descending colon (15.2%), and transverse colon (9.1%) (2). Lipomas of the large intestine represent the third most common benign tumours after hyperplastic and adenomatous polyps (3). They arise from the submucosa in ~90% of cases, but occasionally extend into the muscularis propria; up to 10% are subserosal (3). Colonic lipomas >2 cm may occasionally cause abdominal pain, changes of bowel habits, rectal bleeding, intussusception, bowel obstruction, or prolapse (4). Appendicitis is primarily caused by obstruction of the appendiceal lumen leading to inflammation. In adults, acute appendicitis is commonly attributed to fecaliths, tumours, or infections. In this case we present a patient, who presented with acute appendicitis, secondary to a caecal lipoma.