Giant gastric ulcer penetrating into the pancreas

A 57-year-old man developed haematemesis and was referred to our institution. His discomfort had begun 3 weeks earlier and localised to the upper abdomen. Abdominal CT showed a defect of gastric mucosa and gastric wall thickening. Oesophagogastroduodenoscopy showed that he had an active gastric ulcer, 40 mm in diameter, on the lesser curvature in the upper third of the corpus and the presence of a pancreatic body at the ulcer base, penetration to the pancreas. Open gastrectomy was performed with a preoperative diagnosis of localised peritonitis caused by penetration of the stomach into the pancreas. Histopathology of resected specimens showed a benign peptic ulcer, 40×40 mm in size, was found on the lesser curvature in the antrum, and this had penetrated through the pancreas. The most serious complications of PUD include haemorrhage, perforation, penetration, and gastric outlet obstruction. Approximately 7% of patients experience perforation, which occurs when an ulcer erodes through the wall and leaks air and digestive contents into the peritoneal cavity. Antral and duodenal ulcers can penetrate into the pancreas. We report a case of gastric ulcer penetrating into the pancreas.