Giant primary retroperitoneal teratoma in an adult female patient: A case report

Abstract

The retroperitoneum is an uncommon location for teratoma in adults. The current study presents the case of a rare giant primary retroperitoneal teratoma in a 55-year-old female. The clinical manifestations, diagnosis and surgical treatment procedure of this case are retrospectively reviewed. The patient presented with a complaint of an abdominal palpable mass and fullness for 1 month. The patient suffered a massive hemorrhage during the first exploratory laparotomyand only a small section of the tumor was resected. Pathology revealed a mature retroperitoneal teratoma. Eleven months after the first surgery, the tumor was resected successfully at the second laparotomy. The surgical specimen was a large tumor mass measuring 22x18x10 cm in size and weighing 6 kg. At follow-up, the patient was in a stable condition. This case study highlights the importance of imaging for the development of a pre-operative strategy and performing a safe surgical excision in giant retroperitoneal teratoma cases.