Giant appendiceal neurofibroma in von Recklinghausen's disease: A case report and literature review

Abstract

A 62-year-old female with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1; also von Recklinghausen's disease) was diagnosed with a giant, thick-walled tubular mass, mainly located in the right abdominal area on computed tomography, following an examination for intermittent abdominal pain and increasing abdominal distension. According to the clinical manifestations and imaging features, the giant tubular mass was considered most likely to be a dilated fallopian tube associated with infection, while the possibility of obstructed bowel loops was excluded. However, the subsequent laparotomy revealed a giant appendix, caused by a large neurofibroma in the root region of the appendix, which occluded the lumen. Neurofibroma of the appendix is extremely rare, even in patients with NF1. To the best of our knowledge, only three such cases have previously been reported in the English literature to date.