Congenital pancreatic cyst arising from occlusion of the pancreatic duct.

Congenital pancreatic cysts, particularly solitary cysts, are rare causes of abdominal masses in newborns. The etiology of these cysts is unknown and they can vary in location within the pancreas. We present a novel case of an infant with a solitary congenital cyst of the pancreatic duct, itself, as a result of occlusion of the pancreatic duct. Solitary congenital pancreatic cysts are a rare cause of abdominal masses in infants. We recently evaluated a 7-week-old infant with progressive abdominal distension since birth. This child was found to have a large solitary pancreatic cyst. This cyst resulted from occlusion of the main pancreatic duct at the level of the ampulla resulting in cystic degeneration of the pancreatic duct. Based on our review of the literature we believe this is the first documented case of such a cyst.