title: Ectopic pancreatic pseudocyst and cyst presenting as a cervical and mediastinal mass: case report and review of the literature.
abstract: Ectopic pancreas in the mediastinum is extremely rare. We are reporting on a case of a twenty two year old woman who presented to our clinic with a large cervical mass. The CT scan revealed a cystic lesion in the anterior mediastinum. The patient underwent surgical resection by cervical approach. A Cystic mass with pseudocysts, cysts and complete pancreatic tissue were found in pathology. There were no signs of pancreatitis or malignancy. No recurrence was observed after a follow up of four years. We reviewed the case reports describing this rare condition in the medical literature.We conclude that the possibility of ectopic pancreatic tissue should be included in the differential diagnosis of anterior mediastinal cystic mass, though as a remote possibility. Surgery is probably needed for the diagnosis and treatment. Posterior mediastinal pseudocyst is a different entity associated with acute pancreatitis. In those cases surgery is not recommended. Our third conclusion is that pancreatic tissue should be actively sought, if a structure resembling a pseudocyst is found in an unexpected location.
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authors.forename: Ariel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rokach
authors.affiliation: The Institute of Pulmonology, Shaare Zedek Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel. izbicki@szmc.org.il.
authors.forename: Gabriel
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Izbicki
authors.forename: Maher
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Deeb
authors.forename: Naama
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bogot
authors.forename: Nissim
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Arish
authors.forename: Irith
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Hadas-Halperen
authors.forename: Hava
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Azulai
authors.forename: Abraham
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bohadana
authors.forename: Eli
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Golomb
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002828:Choristoma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008479:Mediastinal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D010181:Pancreatic Cyst / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery; D010192:Pancreatic Pseudocyst / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*