Lymphangiectasis of Stomach Simulating Polypoid Neoplasm

Benign vascular tumors of the stomach are rare, and of these lymphangioma is the rarest. Many benign tumors present as a radiological finding during a barium contrast examination of the gastrointestinal tract—the demonstration of a filling defect of the stomach—which directs attention to their presence. In Palmer's collected series1 of 46 benign angiomas "X-ray examination has revealed gastric tumor in 17 of the 18 patients studied." Only three or possibly four cases of lymphangioma of the stomach have been recorded in the world literature.2-4 All were discovered as incidental findings at postmortem examinations, and no mention was made of roentgenologic studies in these cases.Lymphangiectasis of the stomach, a variant of lymphangioma although not truly neoplastic, may also present roentgenologically as a filling defect suggestive of a benign intramural tumor. To our knowledge, only one case of probable lymphangiectasis of the stomach has been reported.2 In the