Karakousis’s abdominoinguinal approach for the treatment of a primary retroperitoneal parasitic leiomyoma with inguinal extension. A case report

INTRODUCTION: Primary retroperitoneal parasitic leiomyoma (PRPL) with inguinal extension is a diagnostic-therapeutic challenge due to its uncertain etiopathogenesis and because it has been considered unresectable according to customary surgical techniques in some instances. The abdominoinguinal incision described by Karakousis in the 1980s allows a safe and radical approach for lower quadrants abdominopelvic tumors. OBJECTIVES: We present the case of a rare PRPL satisfactorily treated through Karakousis’s approach. PRESENTATION OF CASE: A 35-year-old woman was referred from the Gynecology Service to our Unit. She suffered from a pelvic tumor with left inguinal extension. Initially, it was diagnosed as a retroperitoneal sarcomatous tumor as any digestive and/or gynecological origins of the pelvic tumor were excluded. A radical oncologic excision with permanent neuro-vascular control was undertaken using a left Karakousis’s abdominoinguinal approach. The final anatomopathological report was PRPL. The patient was discharged after 8 days. She is disease-free 18 months later. DISCUSSION: PRPL variant could be related to remnant embryogenic cells of the ducts of Wolf and Müller. Karakousis’s approach allowed an en-bloc ilioinguinal removal of the tumor in continuity, with permanent control of the aorto-ileo-femoral axis, the sparing of the neuro-vascular package, and ensured a total abdominal wall restoration. CONCLUSIONS: PRPL is a rare extrauterine entity probably derived from remnant embryogenic cells. The absence of clinical guidelines recommend an individualized treatment of these patients. Karakousis’s abdominoinguinal approach should be present in any surgeon’s armamentarium as the resectability-rate of tumors of the lower quadrant of the abdomen increases up to 95%.