A rare case of dermoid cyst in the pancreas

TL;DR

This paper reports a rare case of a dermoid cyst in the pancreas and the diagnostic challenges faced before confirming the condition through surgery.

Contribution

The contribution is a case report highlighting the diagnostic difficulties of a rare pancreatic dermoid cyst and its confirmation via surgical resection.

Findings

A 55-year-old male was found to have a complex cystic lesion in the tail of the pancreas.

Surgical resection confirmed the lesion as a dermoid cyst after imaging and tumor marker tests raised suspicion.

The case illustrates the challenges in pre-operative diagnosis of rare pancreatic cystic neoplasms.

Abstract

Pancreatic dermoid cyst is an extremely rare benign neoplasm of the pancreas. Pre-operative diagnosis is often difficult due to its rarity and overlapping features with other pancreatic cystic neoplasms. We report a case of a 55-year-old male with an incidental finding of a lobulated complex cystic lesion in the tail of the pancreas on imaging and the challenges to obtain a definitive diagnosis. Due to suspicious features on imaging and elevated CA 19-9 tumour marker, surgical resection was recommended at the Pancreatic Multidisciplinary Team Meeting. The patient subsequently underwent a distal pancreatectomy and splenectomy which confirmed a dermoid cyst.

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