Ectopic Pancreatic Tissue of Esophagus With Massive Upper Gastrointestinal Bleeding

Abstract

THE HE PRESENCE of ectopic pancreatic tissue within the wall of the gastrointestinal tract is not a rare entity. The aberrant tissues have been reported to be present in the omentum, liver, gall bladder, and spleen, but their usual site of involvement is the stomach and small bowel. Barbosa et al,¹ upon reviewing 430 published cases in the literature from 1727 to 1944, came to the conclusion that in about 70% of the cases, duodenum, stomach, and jejunum are involved. Pearson² later reported a study of 586 cases, which confirmed these conclusions. Because of an embryonic anlage, the ectopic pancreas could logically place itself anywhere along the gastrointestinal tract; however, its presence in the esophagus is rarely reported. The author, on study of the English literature, became aware of only two other cases—one in the wall of an epiphrenic diverticulum and the other in the lower lobe of