Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2025 Sep:134:111709.
doi: 10.1016/j.ijscr.2025.111709. Epub 2025 Jul 23.

Unveiling a rare surgical phenomenon: Symptomatic pancreatic lipoma's diagnosis and management

Indushekar Tarikere  1 , Madhava Shenoy  2 , Rishit Anand  3 , Saraswathy Sreeram  4 , Ashfaque Mohammed  5
Affiliations
Case Reports

Unveiling a rare surgical phenomenon: Symptomatic pancreatic lipoma's diagnosis and management

Indushekar Tarikere et al. Int J Surg Case Rep. 2025 Sep.

Abstract

Introduction: Pancreatic lipomas are rare benign mesenchymal tumors, usually asymptomatic and incidentally detected on radiological investigations due to their unique characteristic appearance on imaging. However, a rare case presented with symptoms, and required surgical management, which is reported here.

Case report: A 59-year-old woman with abdominal pain, reduced appetite, and non-bilious vomiting was found to have a pancreatic head lipoma compressing adjacent organs. She underwent Pancreaticoduodenectomy, as she was symptomatic due to obstruction, and the radiological imaging confirmed the presence of CBD stricture and pancreatic head lipoma compressing the D2. The postoperative course was uneventful without any complications, and the patient was discharged on POD 9.

Discussion: Pancreatic lipomas are most commonly found in the head of the pancreas; they are usually asymptomatic (Butler et al., 2016); if symptomatic - it is often due to the compressive effect of the lesion on neighboring structures. As in our case, the lesion was compressing over D2, producing obstructive symptoms. The current low morbidity and mortality rates associated with pancreatic resection justify the operative approach, even after knowing the benign nature of the lesion.

Conclusion: This case emphasizes the importance of recognizing and treating symptomatic pancreatic lipomas and the need for a careful, team-based approach in managing rare pancreatic tumors.

Keywords: Mesenchymal tumor; Pancreatic lipoma; Pancreaticoduodenectomy.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of competing interest No conflicts of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
CECT abdomen and pelvis showing pancreatic lipoma.
Fig.2
Fig.2
MRCP showing Pancreatic Lipoma.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Specimen of Pancreaticoduodenectomy.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Histopathological specimen showing pancreatic lipoma with mature adipose cells and well-defined collagen capsule.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Butler J.R., Fohtung T.M., Sandrasegaran K., Ceppa E.P., House M.G., Nakeeb A., et al. The natural history of pancreatic lipoma: does it need observation. Pancreatology. Jan 1, 2016;16(1):95–98. - PubMed
    1. Aithal Sitharama S., Bashini M., Gunasekaran K., Barathi Subramania D. Pancreatic lipoma: a pancreatic incidentaloma; diagnosis with ultrasound, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging. BJR Case Rep. Nov 1, 2016;2(4) - PMC - PubMed
    1. Di Maggio E.M., Solcia M., Dore R., Preda L., La Fianza A., Rodino C., et al. Intrapancreatic lipoma: first case diagnosed with CT. AJR Am. J. Roentgenol. Jul 1996;167(1):56–57. - PubMed
    1. Ferrozzi F., Zuccoli G., Bova D., Calculli L. Mesenchymal tumors of the pancreas: CT findings. J. Comput. Assist. Tomogr. 2000;24(4):622–627. - PubMed
    1. Katz D.S., Nardi P.M., Hines J., Barckhausen R., Math K.R., Fruauff A.A., et al. Lipomas of the pancreas. Am. J. Roentgenol. Jun 1998;170(6):1485–1487. - PubMed

Publication types