Giant Retroperitoneal and Mediastinal Abscess following Acute Pancreatitis - a Case Report and Review of the Literature

The infection of the retroperitoneal area (retroperitoneal abscess) is a relatively rare but serious infection, leading to considerable mortality. Most commonly, cases with retroperitoneal infection reported in the medical literature are as a complication of a local abdominal pathology. Retroperitoneal abscesses may be complicated with extension of infection into the peritoneal cavity, the pleural cavity, the mediastinum and with progressive dissection of the abscess into the anterior abdominal wall, hip or thigh. The aim of this study is to present an illustrative case of huge pertoperitoneal abscess following acute pancreatitis. Review of the medical literature about the diagnosis and treatment on of this surgical infection is made on the base of the presented case.