When in doubt, take it out? Cholestasis and obstructive gastric outlet syndrome in a patient with suspected chronic pancreatitis.

In some patients with tumors located in the pancreas or in the periampullary region, the decision to perform a surgical resection can be difficult. In patients with concomitant chronic pancreatitis this decision can be even more challenging, since a definitive preoperative differentiation between non-malignant and malignant tumors in many cases is not possible. Clinical symptoms or complications from the tumor often direct a rational treatment strategy. For therapeutic decisions, an interdisciplinary discussion of all diagnostic findings by experienced clinicians is needed. However, in rare cases, like the one presented here, an uncommon non-malignant entity like a periampullary hamartoma may be only diagnosed after surgical resection.