What are epiploic appendages?

What are epiploic appendages?

Epiploic appendages are normal outpouchings of peritoneal fat on the anti-mesenteric surface of the colon. Epiploic appendagitis is a benign and self-limited condition [1,2]. Inaccurate diagnosis can lead to unnecessary hospitalizations, antibiotic therapy, and surgical intervention [3-6].

Are epiploic appendages normal?

It is often diagnosed by abdominal CT imaging, and before the widespread use of CT imaging, only 2.5% were clinically diagnosed accurately before surgery [2, 13]. Normal epiploic appendages are not evident on CT imaging, but they can be detected when they are inflamed or outlined by ascites.

Does everyone have epiploic appendages?

These pouches are called epiploic appendages. People typically have between 50 and 100 of them over their large intestine. Normally, this fatty tissue gets its blood supply from small vessels attached to the outside of the colon.

How do you get epiploic appendagitis?

What Causes Epiploic Appendagitis? Small sacks of fat sit above your colon and large intestine. Appendagitis happens when the blood flow to these sacks is cut off or restricted. This may happen if there is inflammation of the tissue around the sacks.

How long does epiploic appendagitis take to heal?

Although the patient’s clinical symptoms usually resolve within 2 weeks, CT findings can last for as long as 6 months after the episode, showing some residual soft tissue attenuation [2].

What is calcified epiploic appendage?

The epiploic appendages of the colon have long been an anatomical curiosity. In 1863, Virchow (1) first described the formation of foreign bodies in the abdomen from these calcified appendages. In 1924, Klingenstein (2) noted that 12 cases of such foreign bodies had been described in the literature.

Does epiploic appendagitis need surgery?

Conclusion: Epiploic appendagitis can be managed safely by surgical resection. As described by Sand et al, there are more common diseases with similar symptoms. Therefore, surgery may be a necessary diagnostic and therapeutic tool for this pathology.

Can you get epiploic appendagitis more than once?

Epiploic appendagitis (EA) is a rare cause of acute abdominal pain that is usually benign and self-limiting and can be treated conservatively with analgesics and antiinflammatory medications (1–3). Recurrence of EA is rare, and documented cases describe abdominal pain recurring at the same location (3–5).

Does epiploic appendagitis recur?

What happens when diverticula become inflamed?

When one or more of the pouches become inflamed, and in some cases infected, that condition is known as diverticulitis (die-vur-tik-yoo-LIE-tis). Diverticulitis can cause severe abdominal pain, fever, nausea and a marked change in your bowel habits.

Epiploic appendages (or appendix epiploica, plural: appendices epiploicae) are peritoneum-lined protrusions of subserosal fat that arise from the surface of the large bowel . Epiploic appendages typically measure 1.5 x 3.5 cm but have been reported to measure up to 15 cm in length 4.

What is central dot sign in epiploic appendage?

A central high-attenuation focus within the fatty lesion (“central dot sign”) can sometimes be observed and is indicative of a central thrombosed vein within the inflamed epiploic appendage 9). Rarely, epiploic appendagitis may be located within a hernia sac or attached to the vermiform appendix.

How many epiploic appendages are there in the transverse colon?

There is only one row of epiploic appendages along the transverse colon and there are none along the rectum. They are supplied by one to two small nutrient arteries that pierce the bowel serosa; it is here where colonic diverticula are thought to arise.

What is the prevalence of epiploic appendagitis in the US?

The most common sites of development of epiploic appendagitis are the rectosigmoid (57%) and the ileocecum (26%); rarer sites are the ascending (9%), transverse (6%), and descending colon (2%) 11). Epiploic appendagitis is a rare condition with an incidence of 8.8 per 1 million people and it is usually a diagnosis by exclusion 12).

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