Groove pancreatitis

Summary

Groove pancreatitis is characterized by the formation of a scar plate between the head of the pancreas and the duodenum, and is by no means a rare entity. In our material comprising surgical specimens, it was found to be present in 19.5% of the cases. This form of pancreatitis is “special” only on account of the topography of the scar tissue. Scarring of the groove leads to complications that are also determined by the topography: disturbance of the motility of the duodenum, stenosis of the duodenum, and tubular stenosis of the common bile duct, which occasionally extends to obstructive jaundice. In the “pure” forms of groove pancreatitis the main pancreatic duct is not involved, and this fact has a certain significance in the differential diagnosis vis-a-vis carcinoma of the head of the pancreas, since signs of stenosis with no involvement of the rest of the pancreas are, in the first instance, suspicious for carcinoma and provide the indication for surgery. A knowledge of the existence of groove pancreatitis suggests a differential-diagnostic alternative. In terms of etiology, pathogenesis, and the pathological/anatomical picture, groove pancreatitis is “special” only on account of its topographic aspects.