FOCAL FATTY MASSES OF THE PANCREAS

Five patients with solitary fatty mass of the pancreas examined with C T and ultrasound (US) were evaluated. The areas of fat replacement wer e located in the pancreatic neck, body or tail. The size ranged from 4 to 30 mm in the longest diameter. The shape varied from roundish, to ovoid to semicircular, and the contour was universally well defined. T he internal structure was homogeneous in 3 patients, but in one case t here were thin septa and, in another, a slightly hyperdense part in th e peripheral portion. All the masses except the smallest one were in p art contact with pancreatic fat. CT showed fat with the same density a s the peripancreatic fat and low HU units. The mass was hypoechoic in 2 cases and hyperechoic in one. The masses in the rail of the pancreas were not detected by US.