ABSTRACT
Primary esophageal lymphoma is extremely rare, with fewer than 30 cases reported in the literature. Presentation is nonspecific with multiple radiological and endoscopic appearances, posing its diagnosis a challenge. We report a case of a primary esophageal lymphoma diagnosed by endoscopic ultrasound-fine needle aspiration in a 68-year-old woman referred to our hospital for evaluation of a submucosal tumor spreading all over the esophageal wall. We describe its clinical and imaging features and stand out the importance of having a specific preoperatory diagnosis in order to avoid a major surgery.
ABSTRACT
The pancreatoduodenal groove is a small area where pathologic processes involving the distal bile duct, duodenum, pancreatic head, ampulla of Vater, and retroperitoneum converge. Despite great advances in imaging techniques, a definitive preoperative diagnosis is challenging because of the complex anatomy of this area. Therefore, surgical intervention is frequently required because of the inability to completely exclude malignancy. We report 3 cases of patients with different groove pathologies but similar clinical and imaging presentation, and show the essential role of endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) in making a specific preoperative diagnosis, excluding malignancy in the first case, changing diagnosis in the second case, and confirming malignancy in the third case. EUS was a fundamental tool in this cohort of patients, not only because of its ability to provide superior visualization of a difficult anatomical region, but because of the ability to guide precise, realtime procedures, such as fine-needle aspiration.
