FETAL PANCREAS

-         NORMAL

-         CONGENITAL PSEUDOCYST / HAMARTOMA 

 

1.      Normal Pancreas.

2.     Congenital Pancreatic Pseudocyst /  Congenital Hamartoma of the Pancreas.

 

 

CONGENITAL PANCREATIC PSEUDOCYST / HAMARTOMA 

 

Congenital pancreatic pseudocyst is a rare cause of an abdominal cyst in the fetus.

Of the 15 cases that have been reported in infants under the age of 2 years (1), only 2 cases were detected antenatally.

 

 

CLASSIFICATION OF CONGENITAL CYSTS OF THE PANCREAS (2)

 

  1. Congenital.
  2. Developmental.
  3. Retention cyst.
  4. Pseudocyst.
  5. Neoplastic.
  6. Parasitic.

 

 

ULTRASOUND REPORTS OF CONGENITAL PANCREATIC CYSTS

 

 

Ref 

GA

Ultrasound Findings                                 

Associated Findings

3

32

Two cysts in the fetal abdomen                                    

Asphyxiating thoracic dysplasia

4

27

Left upper quadrant multicystic mass                            

Meconium aspiration

5

32

Cystic mass in the upper abdomen   

 

6

15

Multiple abdominal cysts, narrow chest, short limbs      

Asphyxiating thoracic dysplasia

7

30

Left upper quadrant unilocular cystic mass

 

8

36

Omphalocele, enlarged kidneys, unilocular cyst in the right upper quadrant         

Beckwith – Wiedermann syndrome

9

18

Situs inversus, cystic kidneys, cystic pancreas, bowing of lower limbs             

Autosomal recessive syndrome

10

27

Multicystic abdominal mass with a unilocular cyst  

Polyhydramnios 

Hemihypertrophy / Hamartoma of pancreas

 

 

 

 

 

REFERENCES

 

  1. Auringer ST, Ulmer JL, Sumner TE et.al. Congenital cyst of the pancreas. J Pediatr Surg 1993;28:1570.
  2. Priestley JJ, ReMine WH. Problem in the surgical treatment of pancreatic cysts. Surg Clin North Am 1958;38:1313-1324.
  3. Hopper MS, Boultbee JE, Watson AR. Polyhydramnios associated with congenital pancreatic cyst and asphyxiating thoracic dystrophy.  S Afr Med J 1979;56:32.
  4. Baker LL, Hartman GE, Northway WH. Sonographic detection of congenital pancreatic cysts in the newborn:  Report of a case and review of the literature. Pediatr Radiol 1990;20:488.
  5. Fleet MS, Milne DS, Scott JES. Congenital cyst of the pancreas in the newborn. Pediatr Surg Int 1993;8:149.
  6. Bronstein M, Reichler A, Borochowitz Z et.al. Early prenatal diagnosis of polycystic pancreas with narrow thorax and short limb dwarfism.   Am J Med Genet 1994;49:6.
  7. Daher P, Diab N, Melki I et.al. Congenital cyst of the pancreas: Antenatal diagnosis. Eur J Pediatr Surg 1996;6:180.
  8. Fremond B, Poulain P, Odent S et.al. Prenatal detection of a congenital pancreatic cyst and Beckwith-Wiedermann syndrome.                                                                                       

      Prenat Diagn 1997;17:276.

  1. Balci S, Bostanoglu S, Altinok G et.al. Sibs diagnosed prenatally with situs inversus totalis, renal and pancreatic dysplasia, and cysts:  A new syndrome. Am J Med Genet 1999;82:166.
  2. Sepulveda W, Carstens E, Sanchez J, Gutierrez J. Prenatal diagnosis of congenital pancreatic pseudocyst.  J Ultrasound Med 2000;19:349-352.