Results of surgical treatment of chronic pancreatitis

On the basis of a group of 67 patients studied by the authors, the various techniques for the surgical treatment of chronic pancreatitis are discussed. The average age of the patients covered by this study was 45.7 years, and the male:female ratio was 2.9:1. In more than 82% of the cases a history of chronic alcohol abuse was definitely established. For the drainage operations performed the preferred operative techniques were the pancreaticojejunal anastomosis and, where pancreatic pseudocysts were present, the cystojejunostomy. Resection of the pancreas was performed in a total of 18 patients, the clinical mortality here being 5.6%. In our study also the long-term prognosis for patients with chronic pancreatitis depended, on the whole, less upon the operative technique chosen than upon the subsequent degree of alcoholism.