ILEUS SECONDARY TO PANCREATIC PSEUDOCYST

Intra- or extrapancreatic pseudocyst is a common local complication in pancreatitis. Pathological involvement of the colon secondary to acut e and chronic pancreatitis is a rare complication of major clinical in terest. Contiguity with the tail of the pancreas and certain anatomica l relationships, particularly at the level of the peritoneal reflectio ns, explain the involvement of, particularly, the left flexure of the colon and the adjacent part of the transverse colon. We report a patie nt, presenting with ileus resulting from pressure of a giant pseudocys t secondary to acute pancreatitis, to share the diagnostic and chronol ogic follow-up computed tomography (CT) scanning findings of this rare complication. (C) Elsevier Science Inc., 1998.