Slovenská chirurgia 2/2022

Current surgical treatment options for chronic pancreatitis

Recurrent severe upper abdominal pain is the most common and prominent symptom of patients with chronic pancreatitis. Therefore, pain relief and improving patients quality of life is the primary therapeutic goal. Initially, patients are treated conservatively, but it should be noted that systematic treatment to block the process of progressive fibrosis does not yet exist. After failure of conservative treatment, pain relief can be achieved by endoscopic intervention. Unfortunately in most cases only leads to short term improvement. Recent studies suggest that surgical treatment is superior to endoscopic intervention because it provides excellent long-term results. To date, several effective surgical drainage procedures and resection techniques have been established. It has been shown that duodenum and pylorus preserving surgery can be performed with low morbidity and mortality, preserving the endocrine and exocrine functions of the pancreas, and thereby reducing pain and improving quality of patients life. In this paper, we draw attention to the latest findings on the surgical treatment of chronic pancreatitis and the rationale for early surgical intervention.

Keywords: chronic pancreatitis, pain, surgical treatment, pancreatic resection