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Most patients with chronic pancreatitis do not require a pancreatic resection, but for those who do (usually for intractable pain, or to treat biliary or pancreatic strictures or other serious problems) there is an ongoing debate about which surgery is best. For chronic pancreatitis in the head of the gland, a partial pancreatoduodenectomy (Whipple procedure) or a duodenum-preserving pancreatic head resection (DPPHR) are both options. Some surgeons have strong preferences for one procedure over the other.
In a recent multicenter European trial, researchers compared long-term outcomes of the two surgeries. They randomized 250 patients to undergo DPPHR or partial pancreatoduodenectomy and assessed outcomes at 6 months, 12 months, and 24 months…