Two Cases of Heterotopic Pancreas of the Small Bowel Incidentally Found During Laparoscopic Bariatric Surgery.

BACKGROUND

We present two cases of incidentally found heterotopic pancreas during laparoscopic bariatric surgery. Heterotopic pancreas is a rare congenital anomaly where pancreatic tissue is located outside of the pancreas. These lesions may be encountered incidentally during surgery, which raise unexpected management questions.

CASE 1: A single pathology confirmed ectopic pancreas lesion encountered in the jejunem during laparoscopic Roux-en Y gastric bypass.

CASE 2: Two pathology confirmed heterotopic pancreas lesions encountered in the jejunem during laparoscopic Roux-en Y gastric bypass.

DISCUSSION

Heterotopic pancreas lesions are generally benign and encountered incidentally during intra-abdominal surgery. Surgeons must decide whether to resect the incidentally found mass. When encountered intraoperatively, a heterotopic pancreas lesion found in the small bowel without concerning features should be considered benign and does not warrant resection or biopsy.