Emergency #10 – Long case

23-year-old male:
* Blunt force trauma of the abdomen
* Patient is hemodynamically stable

What do you see?

Arterial phase

Venous phase

Arterial phase

Venous phase

Click here to see the answer

Findings:

* Linear zone of hypodensity through the pancreatic body on both phases
* Surrounding fluid with relatively high-density retroperitoneal AND intraperitoneal

Note that the pancreas may appear normal in 20%-40% of patients when CT is performed within 12 h after trauma
MRCP may be useful to evaluate the integrity of the pancreatic duct

Pancreatic fracture:

* Complete laceration of the pancreatic body: AAST Grade III
* Require surgery within 24h
* Possible complications: fistula, pseudocyst, pancreatitis, abscesses, hemorrhage, pseudo-aneurysm
* Usually, injuries of other organs as well

Treatment in this case: distal pancreatectomy and closing of main pancreatic duct transsection, discharge to hospital in home country after 2 weeks

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