Abdominal neurenteric cyst

Neurenteric cysts are extremely rare congenital anomalies, often presenting in the first 5 years of life, and are caused by an incomplete separation of the notochord from the foregut during the third week of embryogenesis. They are frequently accompanied with spinal or gastrointestinal abnormalities, but the latter may be absent in adults. Although usually located in the thorax, neurenteric cysts may be found along the entire spine. We present a 24-year-old woman admitted for epigastric pain, nausea, vomiting, low grade fever and leucocytosis. She underwent cystgastrostomy for a Ioculated cyst of the distal pancreas at the age of 4 years, which recurred when she was at the age of 11 years. Ultrasound and computer tomograghy （CT） scan revealed a 16 cmx 15 cm cystic mass in the body and tail of pancreas, with a 6-7 mm thickened wall. Laboratory data and chest X-ray were normal and spinal radiographs did not show any structural abnormalities. The patient underwent a complete cyst excision, and after an uneventful recovery, remained symptom-free without recurrence during the 5-year follow-up. The cyst was found to contain 1200 mL of pale viscous fluid. It was covered by a primitive singlelayered cuboidal epithelium, along with specialized antral glandular parenchyma and hypoplastic primitive gastric mucosa. Focal glandular groups resembling those of the body of the stomach were also seen. In addition, ciliary respiratory epithelium, foci of squamous metaplasia and mucinous glands were present. The wall of the cyst contained a muscular layer, neuroglial tissue with plexogenic nerve fascicles, Paccini corpuscle-like structures, hyperplastic neuroganglionar elements and occasional psammomatous bodies, as well as fibroblast-like areas of surrounding stroma. Cartilagenous tissue was not found in any part of the cyst. Immunohistochemistry confirmed the presence of neurogenic elements marked by S-100, GFAP, NF and NSE. The gastric epithelium showed mostly CK7 and EMA immunoexpression, and the respiratory epithelium revealed a CK8 and CK18 immunoprofile without CK 10/13 positive elements, though neither CEA or AFP positive cells were found. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of an abdominally located neurenteric cyst with no associated spinal anomalies.

Tuberculous lymphadenitis as a cause of obstructive jaundice:A case report and literature review

Obstructive jaundice secondary to tuberculosis (TB) is extremely rare. It can be caused by TB enlargement of the head of the pancreas, TB lymphadenitis, TB stricture of the biliary tree, or a TB mass of the retroperitoneum. A 29-year-old man with no previous history of TB presented with abdominal pain, obstructive jaundice, malaise and weight loss. Ultrasonography (US), computer tomography (CT) scan and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) were suggestive of a stenosis of the distal common bile duct (CBD) caused by a mass in the posterior head of the pancreas. Tumor markers, CEA and CA19-9 were within normal limits. At operation, an enlarged, centrally caseous lymph node of the posterior head of the pancreas was found, causing inflammatory stenosis and a fistula with the distal CBD. The lymph node was removed and the bile duct resected and anastomosed with the Roux-en Y jejunal limb. Histology and PCR based-assay confirmed tuberculous lymphadenitis. After an uneventful postoperative recovery, the patient was treated with anti-tuberculous medication and remained well 2.5 years later. Though obstructive jaundice secondary to tuberculous lymphadenitis is rare, abdominal TB should be considered as a differential diagnosis in immunocompromised patients and in TB endemic areas. Any stenosis or fistulation into the CBD should also be taken into consideration, and biliary bypass surgery be performed to both relieve jaundice and prevent further stricture.