Late massive hemorrhage following cystogastrostomy for pancreatic pseudocyst: report of a case.

We report the case of a man who developed life-threatening massive gastric hemorrhage 3 months after undergoing cystogastrostomy for a pancreatic pseudocyst. After cystogastrostomy, the pancreatic pseudocyst became remarkably reduced in size, having the appearance of a shallow ulcer by barium study. However, tarry stools and hematemesis developed 3 months later, 6 days after which sudden massive hematemesis and melena occurred with severe hypotension. At emergency operation, a large artery at the bottom of the reduced cyst wall was found to have ruptured and hemostasis was achieved by suture ligation. The splenic artery was suspected as the bleeding point because a 95% abrupt stenosis was seen on angiography-performed the next day. Thus, the risk of hemorrhage occurring after internal drainage of a pancreatic pseudocyst even in the late postoperative period should always be borne in mind.