Purpose or Case Report: Fat, like any other organ or tissue, can cause both disease and symptomatology. In the pediatric abdomen and pelvis, fat may be involved by a number of conditions, ranging from symptomatic to occult, self-limited to progressive, benign to malignant. This is a review of multimodality cross-sectional imaging findings associated with abdominopelvic fat pathology in children.
Methods & Materials: Case material from our hospital teaching file is used to illustrate a spectrum of diseases involving fat in the pediatric abdomen and pelvis as they manifest on ultrasound, CT, and MRI. Emphasis is placed on imaging features that differentiate these processes from each other and the role that cross-sectional imaging plays in guiding therapy.
Results: Entities discussed include obesity, steatosis, trauma, vascular compromise (epiploic appendagitis, segmental omental torsion/infarct, and omental herniation), primary neoplasia (lipoblastoma, lipoblastomatosis, and lipoma), secondary neoplasia, and patterns of secondary inflammation or fat necrosis (such as from pancreatitis, appendicitis, Meckel’s diverticulitis, and inflammatory bowel disease). Fat-containing tumors such as dermoid, teratoma, and angiomyolipoma are also reviewed.
Conclusions: Recognition and differentiation of these pathologies involving fat by the pediatric radiologist will allow for appropriate diagnosis and treatment.