Carcinoid of the ampulla of Vater--report of two cases.

Carcinoid of the ampulla of Vater is extremely rare, accounting for less than 0.3% of all gastro-intestinal carcinoids. To our knowledge, only 80 cases of ampullary carcinoid have been reported in the literature to date. Ampullary carcinoid is more commonly presented with jaundice or upper abdominal discomfort and diagnosis is more often made postoperatively due to submucosal spread of the tumour. As metastatic potential cannot be predicted by tumour size, Whipple pancreatoduodenectomy rather than local excision is considered to be the treatment of choice. We report here two cases of ampullary carcinoid treated in our department.