Purpose
A heterotopic pancreas is defined as one for which pancreatic tissue is present outside its usual or habitual location and without an anatomic relation either of continuity or of vascularization with the pancreas proper. Most heterotopic
pancreases
are
incidentally encountered during surgery, and on rare occasions, epigastric pain, weight loss, hemorrhage, gastric outlet obstruction, and intussusception have been directly attributable to the presence of a heterotopic pancreas. The purpose of
this
article is to report the clinical characteristics of the heterotopic pancreas. Method
We retrospectively observed 24 patients, who had been pathologically proven to have a heterotopic pancreas, at the Department of Surgery, Korea University Hospital, from Jan. 1990 to Dec. 1998. Results
R> 16 of the 24 cases were found incidentally during operations due to by other primary diseases; 8 cases were symptomatic. The ratio of males to females was 1.18：1 and most common sites were the stomach and the duodenum (71%). The mean size of
the
lesion was 1.26 cm, and the sizes in symptomatic cases were larger (mean 1.89 cm) than those in cases where the lesions were found incidentally (mean 0.94 cm). We experienced a case of a ductal adenocarcinoma originating from the heterotopic
pancreas in
the jejunum of a 73 year old man. Conclusion
A heterotopic pancreas should be considered in the differential diagnosis of submucosal tumors, polyps, ulceration, and intestinal tumors, When suspected, an intraoperative frozen section is recommended, and the range and the method of the
operation
should be decided based on the results of the frozen section.
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