A case of a recurrent acute pancreatitis caused by duodenal gangliocytic paraganglioma

Abstract

A 64 year-old man was admitted to our hospital with acute pancreatitis. Abdominal CT showed a well-enhanced tumor (size 3-5 cm) .
Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy revealed a pedunculated submucosal tumor in the second part of the duodenum. We performed endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration biopsy, and a gangliocytic paraganglioma was diagnosed as the cause of the acute pancreatitis. A pylorus-preserving pancreaticoduoenectomy was performed. The surgical specimen contained a pedunculated solid nodular tumor located near the major duodenal papilla, measuring about 4 cm in diameter. The pathological diagnosis was identical to the preoperative diagnosis, that is, gangliocytic paraganglioma.