Epiploic appendagitis: an emerging diagnosis for general surgeons.

The increased use of sonography and computed tomography in the assessment of lower abdominal pain has led to the greater recognition of epiploic appendagitis. Although epiploic appendagitis is increasingly described and diagnosed by radiologists it is rarely discussed in the surgical literature. We describe five recent cases of epiploic appendagitis managed at our center and review the literature regarding this clinical entity. All cases were diagnosed by computed tomography and none underwent surgery. General surgeons need to include epiploic appendagitis in their differential diagnosis for abdominal pain and be aware of the natural history of this condition when considering therapy.