Role of endoscopic ultrasound in the diagnosis of agenesis of the dorsal pancreas.

CONTEXT Complete agenesis of the dorsal pancreas is an unusual congenital anomaly. Nowadays, the diagnosis is based on four imaging studies: transabdominal ultrasonography, computed tomography, magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography and, the gold-standard, endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography. Sometimes the ability of these studies are limited to distinguishing agenesis of the dorsal pancreas from other congenital abnormalities. Endoscopic ultrasound is a minimally invasive technique which permits us to obtain high resolution images of the pancreatic parenchyma and ductal system. CASE REPORT We report the case of a 23-year-old woman with recurrent episodes of acute pancreatitis and non-conclusive classic imaging studies. Complete agenesis of the dorsal pancreas was demonstrated by endoscopic ultrasound. CONCLUSION Endoscopic ultrasound may be useful in the diagnosis of agenesis of the dorsal pancreas.