Extrarenal angiomyolipoma: diagnosis and management.

We review the symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of extrarenal and renal angiomyolipomas. The pathological anatomy is described and it is maintained that renal localization of angiomyolipoma is by far the most common. A case is reported of an extrarenal angiomyolipoma that was revealed by exploratory laparotomy. Treatment is always surgical, since it is difficult to establish the differential diagnosis preoperatively. Angiomyolipoma is a benign tumor and malignant degeneration has not been observed. However, there is a tendency toward recurrence if the entire tumor is not removed.