Pancreatic duplication cyst misdiagnosed as distal pancreatic tumor: A case report and surgical approach.

Enteric duplication cysts (EDCs) are a benign and uncommon congenital malformation, with a nonspecific and extremely variable clinical presentation. EDCs associated with the pancreas are called pancreatic duplication cysts (PDCs). They are especially rare and can present with recurrent abdominal pain or even severe pancreatitis. These cysts often get confused with pancreatic neoplasms or pseudocysts, thus posing diagnostic and surgical challenges. Here, we report a case of a 20-year-old male patient with a 14-year history of recurrent abdominal pain and many hospital admissions, who had several imaging studies revealing a persistent focal heterogeneous lesion affecting the tail of the pancreas, surrounding a small pseudocyst. An ultrasound (U/S) guided biopsy was avoided due to the location of the mass. Surgical resection was carried out for the suspicion of malignancy and final pathology report showed benign findings while revealing that what was thought to be a pseudocyst turned out to be a gastric-type PDC, and after reviewing the available literature, we encountered 16 similar cases regarding misdiagnosing PDCs. We conclude that PDCs are very rare and have a variable clinical presentation as well as a likelihood of being confused with other pancreatic neoplasms. Therefore, PDCs need a high index of suspicion to avoid recurrent hospital admissions and unnecessary procedures due to the fact that sometimes a simple cystectomy is adequate.

Thoraco-abdominal duplications in children: Two case reports.

INTRODUCTION: Thoraco-abdominal duplication is rare congenital malformations of the notochord that occurs in only 2% of cases of alimentary tract duplications. We report two rare cases of thoraco-abdominal duplication, emphasizing the value of radiological assessment and discussing the place of diagnostic and therapeutic laparoscopy. PRESENTATION OF CASE: It was a 12-year-old girl and an 8-month-old boy, admitted for epigastralgia and dysphagia with respiratory distress respectively. Imaging was in favor of pancreatic duplication with intra-thoracic extension for the first patient and gastro-esophageal duplication for the second. A mass excision was done laparoscopically for the first and by a thoracotomy for the second. The aftermath of the surgery was simple in both cases. CLINICAL DISCUSSION: Thoraco-abdominal duplications are rare congenital malformations that account for only 2% of cases of gastrointestinal duplications. Their diagnosis is difficult since the revealing symptomatology is not common. The treatment is only surgical is facilitated by the laparoscopy which has a diagnostic and therapeutic interest. CONCLUSION: Our case reports focused on the difficulty of the diagnosis that is done by imaging and is confirmed by surgery with anatomopathological examination of the excised mass. Diagnostic and therapeutic minimally invasive approach should be used whenever possible.