Pancreatic dermoid cysts represent a rare entity with 35 cases described in the world literature, including the present one. Pre-operative diagnosis is difficult, with definitive diagnosis usually taking place intra-operatively. We report the case of a 63 year old male with a symptomatic, 6 cm cystic mass in the body of the pancreas. The pre-operative evaluation suggested a cystic neoplasm, but was indeterminate as to whether the lesion was benign or malignant. The diagnosis of dermoid cyst was made intra-operatively with frozen section. Although the diagnosis could not be made pre-operatively this retrospective report highlights the difficulty in evaluating cystic pancreatic lesions by imaging and summarizes the current body of knowledge on this rare entity.
Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is an aggressive and lethal tumor that has a high frequency of metastatic spread to unpredictable sites. One quarter of patients have either distant metastases or significant local-regional disease with atypical symptoms on presentation. We present a 41-year-old patient with symptoms of right heart failure and was found to have metastatic renal cell carcinoma with enhancing tumor from left renal vein up to right atrium.
Peritonitis secondary to spontaneous rupture/perforation of the gall bladder is a rare condition overall and is even less common in the forensic population. We report the case of a middle-aged man who died from generalized peritonitis from gall bladder perforation due to acute acalculous cholecystitis. This condition usually occurs in critical patients with systemic illness, and although the exact pathogenesis remains unclear, the development of acalculous cholecystitis appears to be multifactorial. Antemortem diagnosis is reliant upon clinical presentation, laboratory data, and radiologic studies. Surgery and appropriate antibiotics are mainstays of treatment; however, there is an emerging role for minimally invasive procedures. Histopathologic features show significant overlap with the calculous type. Although increasing numbers of acalculous cholecystitis have been diagnosed in the critically ill, the fatal presentation of a perforated gall bladder following an undiagnosed case of acute acalculous cholecystitis is unusual in a nonhospitalized and ambulatory man.
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