Perineal liposarcoma: diagnosis and management.

Perineal liposarcoma is excessively rare. Its clinical and pathological behavior can only be predicted by comparison with the behavior of liposarcoma in other parts of the body. We describe the management of a man who presented with symptoms related to bladder outlet obstruction and was found to have a prostatic mass on digital examination of the rectum. A needle biopsy was performed and the tissue was histologically consistent with sarcoma of the prostate. Computerized tomography suggested that the mass extended through the urogenital diaphragm and was contiguous with the corpus spongiosum and corpora cavernosa of the penis. Complete surgical extirpation was achieved through a perineal approach, although local extension of the growth beneath the internal anal sphincter and the urogenital diaphragm necessitated reconstruction of these structures. The surgical margins were free of tumor. We advocate local surgical extirpation rather than pelvic exenteration in these cases.