A Case of Jejunal Perforation due to Acute Exacerbation of Ectopic Chronic Pancreatitis

Abstract

A 59-year-old woman presented with abdominal pain and was diagnosed with mesenteric lipofuscinosis by an abdominal CT scan elsewhere. She was treated with antibiotics, but fever and abdominal pain flared up about one month after a temporary remission. She was referred to our hospital for further examination and treatment of a suspected jejunal mesentery perforation.

Enteroscopy revealed an irregular mucosal elevated lesion in the jejunum, which was biopsied, but the definite diagnosis was not confirmed. Partial jejunal resection was performed as a diagnostic treatment. Postoperative histopathological examination revealed that the lesion was caused by jejunal perforation due to acute exacerbation of ectopic chronic pancreatitis. The postoperative course was uneventful and she was discharged home on the 11th day after the operation.

Ectopic pancreas rarely shows clinical symptoms and is often discovered incidentally during examination or surgery. It is necessary to keep in mind that there is a possibility of ectopic pancreatitis as a cause of jejunal perforation.