J Korean Surg Soc.  2002 Sep;63(3):256-261.

Pancreatic Mucinous Cystadenoma Misdiagnosed as Pancreatic Pseudocyst and Managed by Internal Drainage

• Son GM
• Jeon TY
• Sim MS
• Lee CH
• Lee YJ

Abstract

Diagnoses of cystic lesions in the pancreas are increasing in clinical practice because of the wider use of imaging studies. The selection of appropriate treatment depends on the ability to distinguish between benign and malignant cysts. However, cystic pancreatic neoplasms sometimes misdiagnosed as pseudocysts, and managed incorrectly. We report herein the case of a pancreatic mucinous cystadenoma, misdiagnosed as a pseudocyst and managed by internal drainage. A 36-year-old woman initially had a cystojejunostomy under the diagnosis of a pseudocyst, but subsequently suffered from epigastric pain and fever due to cyst infection. A distal pancreatectomy, encompassing the previous cystojejunostomy anastomosis site, was performed 2 years after the initial operation and a mucinous cystadenoma was confirmed by histopathologic examination. Although pseudocysts are predominantly cystic lesions in the pancreas, cystic neoplasms should be considered before deciding the treatment strategy because the misdiagnosis a cystic neoplasm as a pseudocyst may result in serious problems.

Keyword

Pancreatic pseudocyst; Cystic neoplasms; Mucinous cystadenoma

MeSH Terms

Adult
Cystadenoma, Mucinous*
Diagnosis
Diagnostic Errors
Drainage*
Female
Fever
Humans
Mucins*
Pancreas
Pancreatectomy
Pancreatic Neoplasms
Pancreatic Pseudocyst*
Mucins