Laparoscopic excision of a Brunner's gland hamartoma of the duodenum

Brunner's gland hamartoma (adenoma) was first described in 1876. It is a rare hamartomatous lesion, with only 100 cases reported in the world literature. Treatment has been by endoscopic snaring. Open surgical excision was reserved for cases where snaring had failed. We report a case of a Brunner's gland hamartoma (2.4 cm) that was successfully resected by laparoscopic techniques. Postoperative hospital stay was brief (2 days), and there were no complications. This is the second reported case to be resected laparoscopically.