Ectopic pancreatic tissue located in the subserosa of the jejunum: A case report

Abstract Introduction Ectopic pancreas is defined as a pancreatic tissue in an abnormal location with no ductal, anatomical, neuronal or vascular communication with the main body of the pancreas. The incidence of heterotopic pancreas in autopsy studies is approximately 0.6%– 15%, while the clinical incidence is 1 in 500 laparotomies. Ectopic pancreatic tissue can be present anywhere along the gastrointestinal tract. This paper discusses a case of ectopic pancreatic tissue located in the subserosa of the jejunum. Case report We present the case of a 53-year-old woman where a sigmoid resection for chronic, symptomatic diverticular disease was performed and incidentally, a 2 × 3 cm tumour was found in the jejunum. The histological study reported a subserosal heterotopic pancreatic tumour. The patient postoperatively remained asymptomatic and was dismissed on the 6th postoperative day. Conclusion In 75% of the cases, the ectopic pancreatic tissue is located in the submucosa. However, around 13% of these tumours will be found to be in the subserosa. This case is of great interest because of the subserosal location of the tumour. Introduction Ectopic pancreas is defined as a pancreatic tissue in an abnormal location with no ductal, anatomical, neuronal, vascular communication with the main body of the pancreas1,2. The incidence of heterotopic pancreas in autopsy studies is approximately 0.55%–13.7% and as low as 0.2% in laparotomies3–5. The ectopic pancreatic tissue can be present anywhere along the gastrointestinal tract1,3–7. Most frequently, it is located in the stomach, the duodenum, the proximal jejunum or the Meckel’s diverticulum8,9. Rarely, it is seen in the ileum, the gallbladder, the bile ducts, the splenic hilum, the umbilicus and the liver10–12. The present report describes a rare case where the ectopic pancreatic tissue was located in the jejunum as a subserosal tumour.