Usefulness of intraoperative contrast-enhanced ultrasonography in laparoscopic enucleation of small pancreatic metastases from renal cell carcinoma: A case report.

Abstract

Pancreatic metastasis from renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is relatively rare. Surgical resection of the lesion is recommended if no residual tumor remains. Although there is no clear standard for surgical procedures, enucleation can be considered for small lesions. Lesion identification is important for enucleation, and contrast‐enhanced ultrasound which takes advantage of the characteristics of hypervascular lesions was useful in a 68‐year‐old woman who underwent a left nephrectomy for RCC 11 years ago that was pathologically diagnosed as clear cell carcinoma. Recent computed tomography checkup showed a hypervascular tumor of 6 mm in the uncinated process and 10 mm in the pancreatic tail. Endoscopic ultrasonography‐guided fine‐needle aspiration was performed for the tail lesion, a diagnosis of clear cell carcinoma was made, and laparoscopic enucleation of the pancreatic tumors was performed aided by intraoperative contrast‐enhanced ultrasound. The postoperative course was uneventful, and no pancreatic fistula occurred.