Case of intra-abdominal endocrine tumor possibly arising from an ectopic pancreas

We report an intra-abdominal endocrine tumor possibly arising from an ectopic pancreas. A 45-year-old woman visited the Nippon Medical School Musashi-Kosugi Hospital because of right-sided hypochondralgia and upper abdominal discomfort of 1 years duration. An intra-abdominal tumor was diagnosed on the basis of the results of an ultrasound examination, computed tomography and magnetic resonance. Surgery was subsequently performed using laparoscopic techniques, and a tumor without firm adhesions was found near the wall of the duodenal bulbus. The tumor was easily removed; the resected specimen (55 x 45 x 25 mm, 50 g) was composed of bloody fluid within a cystic tumor. Histological and immunohistochemical examinations of the tumor showed a type 3 ectopic pancreas, according to the classification proposed by Heinrich. The patients recovery was uneventful.