Intraluminal duodenal diverticulum: an unusual cause of acute pancreatitis

In a series of over 1,000 patients with pancreatitis treated by the senior author, few among the younger patients had a clearly definable cause which permitted cure. Two teenage patients are described in whom an intraduodenal hollow polyp or sac-like diverticulum at the level of the ampulla of Vater was associated with acute pancreatitis. Subtotal resection of the diverticulum provided excellent results. Recognition of the entity and its anatomic relationships to the ampulla of Vater is essential to the prevention of an iatrogenic catastrophe.