Laparoscopic surgical management of a mature presacral teratoma: a case report

BACKGROUND: Mature presacral (retrorectal) teratoma is very rare. We report a case in which a mature retrorectal teratoma in an adult was successfully treated with laparoscopic surgery. CASE PRESENTATION: A 44-year-old woman was diagnosed with a presacral tumor during a physical examination. Endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) revealed a multilocular cystic lesion; the lesion was on the left side of the posterior rectum and measured approximately 30 mm in diameter on both contrast-enhanced pelvic computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The presumptive diagnosis was tailgut cyst. However, the histopathological diagnosis after laparoscopic resection was mature teratoma. It is still difficult to preoperatively diagnose mature retrorectal teratomas. CONCLUSIONS: Laparoscopic resection of mature retrorectal teratomas is a feasible and promising method that is less invasive and can be adapted without extending the skin incision.