Mediastinal Eventration of a Pseudocyst of Pancreas Presenting As Acute Shock Syndrome: Expecting the Unexpected

Pancreatic pseudocyst is a usual complication of chronic pancreatitis. Diagnosis is usually established with the help of cross-sectional imaging. Typical presenting complaints are abdominal pain and vomiting. However, atypical presentations of pseudocyst of the pancreas continue to puzzle clinicians throughout the world, leading to difficulty in diagnosis and hence, the development of life-threatening complications. Here, we report a case of a 47-year-old male who was a known case of chronic pancreatitis related to alcoholism presenting with dyspnea, dysphagia, chest pain, and vomiting with a blood pressure of 70/50 mmHg, which upon evaluation revealed to be a case of peripancreatic pseudocysts extending into mediastinum abutting inferior vena cava and right atrium presenting as acute shock syndrome. The patient was managed with ultrasound-guided pigtail insertion and drainage of pseudocyst of pancreas. Eventually, the patient’s clinical condition did not allow for surgical exploration of the thorax and the patient succumbed.