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True Solitary Pancreatic Cyst in an Adult: Report of a Case

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Abstract

The differential diagnosis of cystic neoformations in the pancreas is challenging. We report a case of a true solitary cyst of the pancreas in a 26-year old woman. Abdominal magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography showed a unilocular neoformation in the head of the pancreas, without obstruction of Wirsung's duct. We excised the cyst and performed Roux-en-Y loop pancreaticojejunostomy, but the patient suffered recurrent acute pancreatitis from Wirsung's duct stenosis. Thus, a new Roux-en-Y loop pancreaticojejunostomy was successfully done 6 months later. Histologically, the cyst was lined by cuboidal epithelium, immunohistochemically positive to anti-carbohydrate antigen 19-9 antibodies. To our knowledge, only 11 cases of solitary true cyst of the pancreas in adults have been reported, so the characteristics of this unusual entity are not well known. We propose a scheme for the differential diagnosis of cystic neoformations of the pancreas, starting from the histopathological definition of a true solitary cyst.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgical and Gastroenterological Sciences, First Surgical Clinic, University of Padua, Padua, Italy

    Pietro Fiamingo, Enrico Gringeri, Carmelo Madia & Davide Francesco D'Amico

  2. Department of Surgery, Transplantation and Advanced Technologies, University Hospital Catania, Via S. Sofia 78, 95123, Catania, Italy

    Massimiliano Veroux & Pierfrancesco Veroux

  3. Department of Pathology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy

    Roberto Mencarelli

Authors
  1. Pietro Fiamingo
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  2. Massimiliano Veroux
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  6. Carmelo Madia
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  7. Davide Francesco D'Amico
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Fiamingo, P., Veroux, M., Gringeri, E. et al. True Solitary Pancreatic Cyst in an Adult: Report of a Case. Surg Today 35, 979–983 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00595-005-3039-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00595-005-3039-y

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