Intraabdominal panniculitis. report of three cases and review of the literature

Intraabdominal panniculitis is a rare, benign idiopathic disorder of the mesentery. Patients usually present with abdominal pain and a papable mass. The cross-sectional imaging findings are characteristic and consist of a fibrofatty central mesenteric mass lesion encapsulating the mesenteric vessels with displacement of the bowel loops that can suggest the diagnosis. Imaging is also important to establish a definitive diagnosis by an image-guided percutaneous biopsy, assess extent of the disease for selection of appropriate therapy, exclude associated abnormalities namely malignancies and for follow-up