DEAR DR. GOTT: I read somewhere that if a pancreas bursts, several small pancreases form in the area. Is this true?
DEAR READER: A pancreas can burst, rupture or tear because of injury or infection. This would be a medical emergency requiring immediate medical intervention and monitoring.
To the best of my knowledge, it isn’t possible for several small pancreases to form. I cannot say so with 100 percent certainty; however, I have never heard of this happening. Had you provided the resource where you obtained the information, I might have been able to tell you if it was reliable or not.
If anyone has written, documented proof that this can occur, I would be interested.
That being said, there is one organ that I know of that can regenerate: the liver. In the case of a liver transplant, a healthy donor can give part of his or her liver to a viable candidate, and each portion will then grow to become a complete organ. I am not certain that this can occur in cases of rupture, however.
