Sonographic findings in groove pancreatitis

J Ultrasound Med. 2011 Jan;30(1):111-5. doi: 10.7863/jum.2011.30.1.111.

Abstract

Groove pancreatitis is a rare form of chronic pancreatitis involving the anatomic plane between the pancreatic head and duodenum. The radiographic diagnosis remains challenging, and most patients undergo exploratory laparotomy on suspicion of a periampullary malignancy. The appearance of groove pancreatitis on transabdominal and intraoperative sonography has rarely been reported in the literature. The sonographic findings in our 2 patients included a hypoechoic thin area between the pancreatic head and duodenum, a hyperechoic and thickened wall of the adjacent duodenum, and a heterogeneous or hyperechoic dorsocranial part of the pancreatic head.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Diagnosis, Differential
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Pancreas / diagnostic imaging
  • Pancreas / surgery
  • Pancreaticoduodenectomy
  • Pancreatitis, Chronic / diagnostic imaging*
  • Pancreatitis, Chronic / surgery
  • Tomography, X-Ray Computed
  • Ultrasonography