[Ruptured cystadenoma of the pancreas]

There are many potential reasons for an acute abdomen. Very rare is a rupture of a cystadenoma of the pancreas. We describe such a case of an 85-year old woman, who was treated with an internal drainage of the cyst with a Roux-Y-loop, as at the time of the emergency operation the histological diagnosis was not known. As for the age of the patient and her general condition a secondary procedure with total resection of the mucinous cyst was not carried out. The post-operative course was uneventful up to three months, when the patient died in a geriatric home due to a antibiotic-resistant urosepsis. Literature is reviewed and our case is discussed in respect to recent publications.