Mesenteric suture granuloma caused by retained fragments of suture material in a girl who had a laparotomy 12 years previously.

The authors report a case of a mesenteric suture granuloma in a 12 year-old-girl who had a small bowel resection for a complicated intussusception at the age of 5 months. At later exploration a whitish round tumor located on the anti-mesenteric side of the intestine was found. Several small intestinal loops also abutted on the tumor. Pathologic examination showed fibrosis and a granuloma containing linear colored braided suture material with multinucleated giant cell. As mesenteric suture granulomas have a complex appearance and mimic a soft tissue tumor during imaging, it is important for a surgeon to know about this condition and to consider the history of previous surgery when evaluating the images of patients presenting with an abdominal or pelvic mass. Suture granulomas separate from previous suture sites have not been described in the literature.