Gastrointestinal surgery: Gardner syndrome: practice question

A General Surgery question in the style of the NEET PG paper. Answer it first, then read why the right option is right and why each of the others is wrong.

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General Surgery · Gastrointestinal surgery: Gardner syndrome

Sample item

A 22-year-old man has hundreds of colonic adenomas, a mandibular osteoma and multiple epidermoid cysts of the skin. His father had a similar picture. Which syndrome is this?

Original practice item, not a recalled exam question. Nothing here is recorded.

The answer and the reasoning

A. Gardner syndrome

Gardner syndrome is a variant of familial adenomatous polyposis (APC mutation) with extracolonic features: osteomas, epidermoid cysts, desmoid tumours and congenital hypertrophy of the retinal pigment epithelium. Prophylactic colectomy is advised because cancer risk approaches 100 percent.

Option by option

  • A. Gardner syndrome (correct)

    Correct. Polyposis with osteomas and epidermoid cysts defines Gardner syndrome.

  • B. Turcot syndrome

    Turcot syndrome pairs colonic polyposis with central nervous system tumours such as medulloblastoma or glioma.

  • C. Cowden syndrome

    Cowden syndrome causes hamartomas with trichilemmomas and breast and thyroid cancer risk.

  • D. Peutz-Jeghers syndrome

    Peutz-Jeghers syndrome has hamartomatous polyps and mucocutaneous pigmentation, not adenomas and osteomas.

Source note: Original NextPrep sample item — pending expert review. This item is original practice material awaiting independent expert review, so confirm important facts in a standard textbook.

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Questions about this General Surgery question

What is the answer to this General Surgery question?

The best answer is A, Gardner syndrome. Gardner syndrome is a variant of familial adenomatous polyposis (APC mutation) with extracolonic features: osteomas, epidermoid cysts, desmoid tumours and congenital hypertrophy of the retinal pigment epithelium.

Why is "Turcot syndrome" not the answer?

Turcot syndrome pairs colonic polyposis with central nervous system tumours such as medulloblastoma or glioma.

Why is "Cowden syndrome" not the answer?

Cowden syndrome causes hamartomas with trichilemmomas and breast and thyroid cancer risk.

Why is "Peutz-Jeghers syndrome" not the answer?

Peutz-Jeghers syndrome has hamartomatous polyps and mucocutaneous pigmentation, not adenomas and osteomas.

What concept does this question test?

It tests Gastrointestinal surgery: Gardner syndrome in General Surgery. Prophylactic colectomy is advised because cancer risk approaches 100 percent.

How hard is this question?

We tag it as an application question: it asks you to use a fact on a patient or a finding. The tag is our own editorial judgement, not an official difficulty rating, so read the reason for every option, not only the answer.

How should I study Gastrointestinal surgery: Gardner syndrome?

Learn classic signs and eponyms alongside what they diagnose. Then use the flashcards and the other General Surgery questions on this site to test what stuck.

Is this a real NEET PG question?

No. It is an original practice item (editorial status: sample, version 1). NextPrep does not publish recalled or leaked questions, and independent faculty review of this item has not been completed yet, so confirm important facts in a standard textbook.