Primary and secondary omental infarction: A 5-year experience in a tertiary care hospital

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study is to describe the computed tomography (CT) features of primary and secondary omental infarction. Materials and Methods: Five cases of primary and seven cases of secondary omental infarction are described with emphasis on CT features. The etiology and clinical features are described with the ultimate clinical outcome. Results: In this case series of 12 patients, five omental infarcts (42%) were classified as primary. Seven cases (58%) were postoperative with four infarcts following cesarean section, one following a total abdominal hysterectomy, one occurring after a laparoscopic ovarian cystectomy, and one occurring after laparoscopic hemicolectomy. Of the seven secondary omental infarctions, one was associated with secondary thickening of the transverse colon and one patient developed an abscess. Three patients from the secondary group and one patient from the primary group underwent omentectomy. Primary infarcts showed an ill-defined fat attenuation lesion with thin stranding located in the right upper quadrant in three and left lower quadrant in two patients. The postoperative omental infarcts showed more pronounced inflammatory change and soft tissue attenuation foci interspersed with fat density foci. They were located in the right lower quadrant in four patients, in the right upper quadrant in two patients, and in the left lower quadrant in one patient. The patients were followed to clinical resolution. Conclusion: It is possible to distinguish primary and secondary omental infarcts on the basis of CT features. Even though, a nonsurgical cause of acute abdomen, surgical management may become necessary in patients with secondary omental infarction and secondary infection who fail to respond to antibiotics and percutaneous drainage. The majority of the secondary cases followed cesarean section in our series.