Ectopic pancreatic tissue in a cholecystectomy specimen: A rare incidental pathologic finding

Ectopic pancreatic tissue is a rare congenital abnormality defined as the abnormal location of pancreatic tissue outside the anatomical site of the pancreas without any anatomical or vascular connection to it, which is often discovered incidentally. This is a case of a 40-year-old man who was admitted to our surgical department for emergency cholecystectomy due to acute gangrenous cholecystitis. Preoperative ultrasound imaging was indicative only of multiple stones in the gallbladder. Postoperative histopathological examination revealed an area of wall thickening in the neck region of the gallbladder consists of ectopic pancreatic tissue. We emphasize the role of a precise pathologic examination even in routine surgical specimens such as a cholecystectomy specimen, since no preoperative evaluation can be affirmative of such incidental but momentous histopathologic findings. Anatomical pathologists must be aware of the rare presentation of Ectopic Pancreatic Tissue (EPT) in gallbladder which may masquerade as a malignancy. Below is depicted histomorphology of gallbladder wall asterisks with an incidental erratic occurrence of heterotopic pancreatic islands arrows and arrow heads in an acute gangrenous cholecystectomy specimen right upper corner, masquerading malignancy in the initial sections of microscopic examination.image