-Case Reports-

A Case of Giant Mucinous Cystic Neoplasm of the Pancreas Resected with Laparoscopic Surgery

Satoshi Mizutani^1,2, Yoshiharu Nakamura¹, Masao Ogata^1,2, Masanori Watanabe^1,2, Akira Tokunaga^1,2 and Takashi Tajiri¹

¹Surgery for Organ Function and Biological Regulation, Graduate School of Medicine, Nippon Medical School
²Institute of Gastroenterology, Nippon Medical School Musashi Kosugi Hospital

We report a case of giant mucinous cystic neoplasm (MCN) of the pancreas that was successfully treated with laparoscopic surgery. A 29-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital for evaluation of an abdominal tumor that had been detected during a routine medical examination. The tumor was diagnosed as an MCN of the pancreas. We performed laparoscopic distal pancreatectomy and splenectomy. The patient could begin oral feeding 3 days after the operation. No complications occurred either during or after surgery. The outcome in this patient was excellent, with cosmetically acceptable small scars in the skin. Therefore, laparoscopic distal pancreatectomy may become a therapeutic option for patients with large MCNs of the pancreas.

J Nippon Med Sch 2009; 76: 212-216

Keywords
laparoscopic surgery, distal pancreatectomy, mucinous cystic neoplasm

Correspondence to
Satoshi Mizutani, Institute of Gastroenterology, Nippon Medical School Musashi Kosugi Hospital, 1-396 Kosugi-cho, Nakahara-ku, Kawasaki, Kanagawa 211-8533, Japan
mizutani@nms.ac.jp

Received, February 23, 2009
Accepted, June 2, 2009