Pancreatic cystic lymphangioma: diagnostic approach with MDCT and MR imaging

Lymphangiomas are rare congenital benign tumors arising from the lymphatic system mostly encountered in the neck and axillary regions of pediatric patients. Pancreatic cystic lymphangiomas very rarely occur in adults. Radiologically, the lesion may mimic pancreatic carcinoma and should be considered in the differential diagnosis of any patient found to have an abdominal cystic mass. In this article, we present a 50-year-old man who presented with pain in the upper abdomen, nausea, and abdominal swelling. On computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, a gross septated cystic lesion was detected in the upper abdomen which extended from the pancreatic corpus to the left liver lobe. The patient underwent complete resection of tumor. Pathology revealed a cystic lymphangioma.