An extremely high incidence of reappearing cyst of the pancreas (24.1%; 7 out of 29 patients) was noted in the present survey. However, reappearance could have been avoided in the majority of cases with the use of thorough pre- and peri-operative assessments of the extent of cystic lesion of the pancreas. The recurrence rate after surgical treatment for pseudocysts (13.6%; 3 out of 22 patients) was similar compared with usual recurrence rate of approximately 10 percent. If the reappearing cyst is a retention cyst or a pseudocyst, a minimally aggressive procedure should initially be considered to aid its resolution. A part of this study was reported at the 51st meeting of the Japanese Society for Clinical Surgery on November 2, 1989 at Kobe, Japan.