[A case of suspected acute pancreatitis after general anesthesia].

We report a case of suspected acute pancreatitis after bilateral total knee arthroplasty. Airway management including jaw thrust maneuvers was performed. Postoperatively, the patient complained of nausea with vomiting. Further examination revealed high serum amylase levels (1703 IU x l(-1)), and an abdominal CT scan revealed confined inflammation near the head of the pancreas. The amylase isozyme patterns identified the salivary-type amylase. A gastroduodenoscopy procedure performed on the 21st postoperative day revealed a duodenal ulcer. We speculated that the primary cause of hyperamylasemia was accumulation of amylase in the parotid glands and the CT findings showed the inflammation of the pancreas itself or extrapancreatic exdates resulting from duodenal ulcer.