Ansa pancreatica: A rare cause of acute recurrent pancreatitis

Abstract

Acute pancreatitis is an inflammation of the pancreas that can be caused in rare situations by ansa pancreatica, it is a rare anatomic variation of the pancreatic ducts. It is a communication between the main pancreatic duct (Wirsung) and the accessory pancreatic duct (Santorini). We report a case of the patient, in a 44-year-old, non-alcoholic, hospitalized for acute pancreatitis stage C of Baltazar. A magnetic resonance Cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) was performed which showed a gallstone and ansa pancreatica, than an endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) revealed an ansa pancreatica with a common bile duct clear, a sphincterotomy of the major papilla was performed. It is still not clear whether the presence of these two pathologies is a coincidence or if the ansa pancreatica is the cause of acute pancreatitis. New studies are necessary to clarify these points.