Successful endoscopic drainage of a pancreatic pseudocyst in a 17-month-old boy

Abstract

Pancreatic pseudocysts (PPCs) develop in 10% to 30% of children with acute pancreatitis. PPCs that impinge on neighbouring structures, cause pain, or fail to undergo spontaneous resolution must be drained. Surgery and percutaneous aspiration are the most widely used techniques for draining PPCs. We successfully performed an endoscopic drainage in a 17-month-old boy. A nasobiliary catheter was inserted via the gastric wall under endoscopic guidance to drain an 8 cm PPC of unknown origin responsible for pain, ascites, and displacement of the stomach with vomiting. The cyst collapsed. Eighteen months later, the child had no symptoms or abnormalities by laboratory testing or ultrasonography. Whereas endoscopic drainage is widely used to treat PPC in adults, only five paediatric cases have been published.

Conclusion: as compared to surgery, endoscopic drainage has provided similar efficacy and recurrence rates, with less morbidity.