Total Pancreatectomy for Chronic Pancreatitis

Pain from chronic pancreatitis can lead to narcotic addiction, frequent hospitalization, and disruption of daily activities. Total pancreatectomy has been considered a treatment of last resort because it leads to development of postoperative “brittle diabetes.” However, advances such as improved autologous islet cell transplantation have resulted in more-frequent use of total pancreatectomy in patients with disabling symptoms whose pancreatic morphology is not conducive to resection or decompressive surgery.

Now, researchers in the U.K. have prospectively examined outcomes of total pancreatectomy in 85 patients with abdominal pain from treatment-refractory, chronic pancreatitis. Fifty patients also received islet cell transplantation; 35 pat…