Complete Traumatic Rupture of the Pancreas by a Horse Saddle: A Case Report

Abstract

Pancreatic trauma is one of the least observed diagnoses in the emergency room, much less in pediatric emergencies. Any cause of direct abdominal blunt trauma can cause it. With only a few cases presented in the literature, horse accidents have been associated with this complication, but it has been never seen in literature as a case where the horse-riding saddle is the one causing the pancreatic trauma, until now. Emphasizing the importance of an early diagnosis is the key point, but more importantly, to highlight that the correct diagnostic approach will grant the opportunity for a lesion in the main pancreatic duct to be identified, which will allow a timely surgical approach, increasing overall survival rates and decreasing morbidity in these patients. Here lies the importance of not only utilizing a specific study, such as a computerized tomography (CT) scan to evaluate abdominal trauma but also using other image studies that are better suited for pediatric patients, such as magnetic resonance image (MRI) with cholangiopancreatography (MRCP).