Published online Mar 7, 2009. doi: 10.3748/wjg.15.1138
Revised: January 8, 2009
Accepted: January 15, 2009
Published online: March 7, 2009
Tumors of the minor papilla of the duodenum are quite rare. We successfully and safely treated an 18-mm adenoma of the minor papilla associated with pancreas divisum using endoscopic papillectomy. A 64-year-old man was admitted to our hospital for treatment of an asymptomatic mass in the minor papilla detected by upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. Endscopic analysis showed an 18-mm, whitish, sessile mass, located in the duodenum proximal to a normal-appearing major papilla. Endoscopic retrograde pancreatography did not reveal the pancreatic duct. Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography showed a lack of the ventral pancreatic duct. We suspected this case was associated with pancreatic divisum; therefore, we performed endoscopic papillectomy of the minor papilla tumor. Subsequently, endoscopic pancreatic stent placement in the minor papilla was done to prevent drainage disturbance. The patient has been asymptomatic without recurrence of tumor or stenosis of the Santorini orifice upon endoscopic examination for the past 2 years.