Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 3, 2026
Robotic-assisted Lateral Pancreaticojejunostomy for Chronic Pancreatitis
Published on: September 5, 2025
Ectopic pancreatitis in the antral stomach causing gastric outlet obstruction: a case of successful resection
Masaaki Urade1, Satoru Fujimoto2
1Department of General Surgery, Nanto Municipal Hospital, 938 Inami, Nanto City, Toyama, 932-0211, Japan. masaakiurade@yahoo.co.jp.
Insights
Ectopic pancreas, a rare congenital anomaly, can cause severe gastric outlet obstruction when inflamed. Surgical removal (distal partial gastrectomy) offers rapid relief for this uncommon condition.
Area of Science:
- Gastroenterology
- Developmental Biology
- Pathology
Background:
- Ectopic pancreas is a congenital anomaly arising from embryologic errors, potentially linked to genetic factors.
- While often asymptomatic, ectopic pancreas can rarely cause significant complications.
Observation:
- A 52-year-old woman presented with nausea and vomiting due to an inflamed ectopic pancreas in the gastric antrum.
- This inflammation led to severe pyloric stenosis, causing an inability to ingest food or water.
Findings:
- The case highlights acute ectopic pancreatitis causing gastric outlet obstruction.
- Surgical intervention (distal partial gastrectomy) successfully resolved the patient's severe symptoms after conservative treatments failed.
Implications:
- Clinicians should consider ectopic pancreatitis in patients with gastric outlet obstruction, especially when cancer or ulcers are absent.
- Distal partial gastrectomy may be an effective treatment for ectopic pancreas causing gastric outlet obstruction.
Abstract:
Ectopic pancreas is a congenital developmental anomaly that may be caused by embryologic errors. The pathogenetic details of ectopic pancreas remain unclear, but it has gradually been determined to originate at the gene level. DNA errors during embryological development cause ectopic pancreas. Ectopic pancreas is generally asymptomatic and harmless throughout the patient's entire life; in very rare cases, however, it can be symptomatic and harmful, causing pain, fever, bleeding, and other adverse effects. We herein report an unusual case involving a 52-year-old Japanese woman who presented with nausea and vomiting due to inflammation of an ectopic pancreas in the gastric antrum. Ectopic pancreatitis caused severe pyloric stenosis, and she was unable to ingest food or water even after admission to the internal medicine ward. Ectopic pancreatitis is a very rare clinical condition, but clinicians should be cautious of this uncommon disease in patients who develop gastric outlet obstruction without cancer or ulcers. The present case report is clinically significant because surgical treatment (distal partial gastrectomy) relieved the patient's serious distress rapidly and successfully after unsuccessful conservative treatments for acute ectopic pancreatitis. Antrectomy (distal partial gastrectomy) might be useful for ectopic pancreas, especially in case of gastric outlet obstruction due to the ectopic pancreatitis.
