[The safety and usefulness of endoscopic polypectomy for treatment of Brunner's gland adenomas].

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Brunner's gland adenoma is a rare benign tumor of the duodenum. Although several cases of successful endoscopic polypectomy have been reported, the studies on the safety and usefulness of endoscopic polypectomy are extremely rare. Therefore, we report the results of 10 cases of Brunner's gland adenoma treated by endoscopic polypectomy.

METHODS: Between November 1998 and January 2003, 10 cases of Brunner's gland adenoma were diagnosed. The mean age of the cases (6 male, 4 female) was 60.4 years. They were located in the bulb (9) and the second portion (1) of the duodenum. All cases were diagnosed and removed by endoscopic polypectomy.

RESULTS: The size of the tumor ranged from 1.0 to 3.5 cm in diameter. Pedunculated polyps were found in three cases. In other seven cases, semipedunculated polyps were observed and, three of them were presented as submucosal tumor. All cases had no malignant foci. There was no complication such as bleeding, perforation, and pancreatitis after endoscopic polypectomy. During follow-up period (range 1~39 months) after endoscopic polypectomy, there was no complication and recurrence of the lesions.

CONCLUSIONS: Endoscopic polypectomy was a safe and useful method for the treatment of duodenal Brunner's gland adenoma without complication and recurrence.