A rare case report of Solid Pseudopapillary Tumor of the pancreas with portal hypertension

INTRODUCTION: Solid Pseudopapillary Tumor of the pancreas (SPT) is a rare pancreatic tumor and represents 1–3% of all pancreatic tumors. It usually presents in young females with abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and abdominal fullness. The first case report was documented in 1959 and since then multiple case reports have been documented on the various surgical approaches for SPT. However, there are not many reported cases where surgery has been performed on SPT with portal hypertension. PRESENTATION OF CASE: In our case report, a 19 year old girl presented with a mass in the left side of the abdomen with associated dragging pain. Ultrasound Abdomen and CT (computed tomography) confirmed an SPT with portal hypertension, with the lesion involving the body and tail of pancreas. DISCUSSION: Although few reports are available on SPT with portal hypertension, ours is the first report on a benign SPT with sinistral portal hypertension treated with a distal pancreatectomy. The presence of portal hypertension made the excision of the tumor and delineation of the vessels very difficult. However, when great care is taken while handling the dilated vessels, dissection can be completed with minimal blood loss. CONCLUSION: Meticulous surgical technique along with accurate identification of vasculature will aid in the resection. Although some SPTs behave aggressively, most of them are benign and patients with SPT have an excellent prognosis.