Pancreatic Pseudocyst - Diagnosis

Diagnosis

The questions that need to be answered are:

• where, how big and how many?
• is there a communication with the pancreatic ductal system? Draining such a pseudocyst carries an increased risk of pancreatic fistula.

The most useful imaging tools are

• Ultrasonography - The role of ultrasonography in imaging the pancreas is limited by patient habitus, operator experience and the fact that the pancreas lies behind the stomach (and so a gas-filled stomach will obscure the pancreas).
• Computerized tomography - This is the gold standard for initial assessment and follow-up
• Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) - to establish the relationship of the pseudocyst to the pancreatic ducts