Secondary appendicitis in an adult patient with an ascended testicle – case report

Abstract

Acute appendicitis is one of the most common acute abdomen cases. Although many causes have been described in literature, it is mostly primary affection of the appendix that leads to acute appendicitis.
A 57-year-old patient was admitted to our department displaying all usual signs of acute appendicitis, both clinical and laboratory. During laparoscopic appendectomy, we found the inflammation of the appendix in this case appeared secondary, originating in a structure located nearby the appendix, strongly resembling a testicle. We performed appendectomy and removed the suspected structure altogether. The patient recovered completely within a week. Subsequent histological examination confirmed that the suspected tissue was indeed a retained testicle causing secondary inflammation of the appendix. As we found out later, this condition probably occurred in the patient secondarily in adulthood, most likely due to inguinal hernia repair undergone during childhood.