Management of pancreatic pseudocysts

BACKGROUND: This review analyses the outcome for patients with acute and chronic pancreatic pseudocysts managed in two major referral centres. PATIENTS AND METHODS: From 1987 to 1997, 33 patients were treated with either acute (n = 19) or chronic (n = 14) pseudocysts. Procedures performed included cystgastrostomy (64%), cystduodenostomy (6%), cystjejunostomy (3%), distal pancreatectomy with resection of pseudocyst (12%), laparotomy with external drainage (9%), endoscopic transpapillary stenting (3%) and endoscopic pancreatic duct sphincterotomy with percutaneous drainage of the pseudocyst (3%). RESULTS: All patients had resolution of their pseudocyst and no patient developed recurrence. There were no deaths in this series. There was a 9% incidence of major complications and a 21% incidence of minor complications. Outcome was excellent in 63% and good in 27% of patients. Two patients (6%) had persistent chronic pain and one patient (3%) had evidence of exocrine pancreatic insufficiency with malabsorption. CONCLUSIONS: Surgical internal drainage of pancreatic pseudocysts can be performed safely with low morbidity and mortality provided patients are carefully selected and their medical management is optimized. Although minimally invasive techniques now offer a variety of treatment options, open surgical drainage is still indicated for a significant number of cases.     

Management of pancreatic pseudocysts in children

The management of 25 children with pseudocyst of the pancreas presenting over a 30-year period is reviewed. Nearly a third could be managed nonoperatively, monitoring clinical signs, serum amylase, and in recent years the findings of ultrasound and CT scan. Persistence of symptoms, signs, and hyperamylasemia for more than 4 weeks indicated failed resolution in all but one case. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) done in those who did not improve spontaneously facilitated operative strategy. Early operation and internal drainage in selected cases was well tolerated. Individualization of treatment is emphasized.     

Management of pancreatic pseudocysts in relation to pain relief

Seventy patients were treated either surgically, by percutaneous puncture, or conservatively for pancreatic pseudocysts at this hospital; 61 (87%) had pain, which in most cases was moderate. Before admission 14 patients had been taking opioid drugs regularly and 18 had used opioids occasionally. Nine patients used non-opioid analgesic drugs less than once a day. Pain relief after treatment was less effective in patients for whom pain was the main symptom. The patients in whom pseudocysts were a complication of chronic alcoholic pancreatitis had more severe pain than those whose pseudocysts followed trauma or attacks of acute pancreatitis. There was a positive correlation between the degree of pain and the size of the pseudocyst in patients with acute pancreatitis, but there was no correlation between the degree of pain and the presence of bacteria in the cyst fluid (n = 8). Pseudocysts in the tail of the pancreas caused less pain than those in the head.     

Mediastinal pancreatic pseudocysts

Three patients with mediastinal extension of pancreatic pseudocysts are presented. Clinical manifestations included a history of esophageal obstruction and pleural effusion in two patients, and in none of the three could an epigastric mass be palpated. The pseudocysts traversed the diaphragm by way of the esophageal hiatus in two patients and by erosion directly through the diaphragm in the third case. The latter occurrence has never been described before. The diagnosis of mediastinal pseudocyst should be considered in patients with lower mediastinal masses seen on chest roentgenogram, in whom barium studies show displacement of the distal esophagus and stomach by a retrogastric mass. Although the predominant clinical manifestations are related to the chest, proper management should include cystography, laparotomy, and cystenteric anastomoses. Two of our patients underwent thoracotomy and both eventually required laparotomy to cure the pseudocyst. External drainage in two patients was followed by recurrence of the pseudocyst, emphasizing the importance of internal drainage. Although mediastinal extension of a pancreatic pseudocyst, as described in this report, is uncommon, pleural effusion and atelectasis are frequent thoracic complications of pancreatic pseudocysts limited to the abdomen.     

Calcified pancreatic pseudocysts

Extensive calcification of a pancreatic pseudocyst that permits visualization on plain abdominal radiographs is unusual. When such x-ray findings are encountered, a broad differential diagnosis can be made, which includes tumors, cysts, abscesses, or malformations of the adjacent structures. Two cases of calcified pancreatic pseudocysts are discussed. Calcified pancreatic pseudocysts may be a potential source of complications such as pain, bleeding, or infection. Because the cyst wall is mature and spontaneous resolution is unlikely, proper treatment of calcified pseudocysts consists of timely resection or internal drainage.     

Treatment of pancreatic pseudocysts

Based on the results of treatment of a personal series of 13 cases of pseudocyst of the pancreas, between 1974 and the present day, it is suggested that the choice of therapy should be surgical. An internal shunt is preferred for pseudocysts as a result of acute pancreatitis or injury, whereas a wider cysto-wirsung jejunostomy is recommended for cysts developing during the course of chronic pancreatitis. These proposals follow analysis of immediate and long-term (mean: 51 months) follow-up, on the basis of mortality, morbidity, pain symptoms, malabsorption and postoperative diabetes.     

Classification of pancreatic pseudocysts]

Pancreatic pseudocysts were observed in 50 patients and created in the experiment in 48 dogs. Depending on cyst communication with the pancreatic ducts, their patency and outflow through them of a pancreatic secret into the duodenum, the progressive, stable and intermittent pancreatic pseudocysts have been distinguished.     

Transcutaneous drainage of pancreatic pseudocysts

The clinical study includes 76 pancreatic pseudocysts localized in the head (24), body (37), and tail (15). The effect of treatment by means of a single or repeated purposeful aspiration in ultrasonic control is discussed. Recovery occurred in 83.3% of cases with cysts measuring up to 5 cm, in 61.3% in those with cysts measuring from 5 to 10 cm, and in 11.1% of cases in which the cysts measured more than 10 cm. As the result of 15 draining manipulations of cysts which were irresponsive to aspiration (9 of them measuring from 5 to 10 cm and 6 larger than 10 cm) complete recovery occurred in 13 cases. The authors discuss the indications for single, two, and many punctures on basis of a complex appraisal of the gland, the size and type of the cyst, and the cytologic results. The indications for percutaneous drainage, the period and techniques of its performance and preliminary and postmanipulation treatment with drugs are determined and the occurring complications are shown.     

Surgical treatment of pancreatic pseudocysts

Between 1966 and 1980, 54 patients (40 men and 14 women) with a mean age of 38 years were operated on for a pancreatic pseudocyst at the Department of General Surgery, University of G?ttingen. The aetiology of the cysts was alcohol abuse in 35 patients, biliary diseases in 8, blunt abdominal trauma in 4, virus-induced in 2 and unknown in 5. With the exception of those who had had trauma, all patients were suffering from chronic pancreatitis. Surgical therapy included in all cases a cystojejunostomy (52 with a Roux-Y-limb and 2 with an omega loop). The mean follow-up period was 13 years (range 6 to 20 years). The late mortality was 15 per cent (8 of 52 patients). Recurrent cysts occurred in two patients (5 per cent) and relapse of pancreatitis in one third of the patients. Deterioration of carbohydrate metabolism was observed in 20 per cent of the patients. After drainage operation stool fat content became normal in 20 per cent and deteriorated in 13 per cent. Persistence or cessation of alcohol intake influenced the long-term results. From these data we conclude that both alcohol withdrawal and sufficient drainage of the pseudocyst are important factors in the prognosis of pseudocyst.     

Management of pancreatic pseudocysts in chronic alcoholic pancreatitis with duct dilatation

Twenty-one patients with pancreatic pseudocysts secondary to alcoholic pancreatitis were treated by cystojejunostomy (16), cystoduodenostomy (4) and external drainage (1). In all patients, the duct of Wirsung was drained into a defunctionalized loop of the jejunum at the same operation. There was no early or late mortality. Pseudocyst recurrence did not occur, and only one patient (4.7%) had light pain recurrence in the follow-up period. The importance of providing an outflow route for the obstructed pancreatic duct, and not just for the pseudocyst, is stressed due to this experience with patients affected by underlying chronic pancreatitis.     

Treatment of pancreatic pseudocysts.

According to the Atlanta classification an acute pseudocyst is a collection of pancreatic juice enclosed by a wall of fibrous or granulation tissue, which arises as a consequence of acute pancreatitis or pancreatic trauma, whereas a chronic pseudocyst is a collection of pancreatic juice enclosed by a wall of fibrous or granulation tissue, which arises as a consequence of chronic pancreatitis and lack an antecedent episode of acute pancreatitis. It is generally agreed that acute and chronic pseudocysts have a different natural history, though many reports do not differentiate between pseudocysts that complicate acute pancreatitis and those that complicate chronic disease. Observation--"conservative treatment"--of a patient with a pseudocyst is preponderantly based on the knowledge that spontaneous resolution can occur. It must, however, be admitted that there is substantial risk of complications or even death; first of all due to bleeding. There are no randomized studies for the management protocols for pancreatic pseudocysts. Therefore, today we have to rely on best clinical practice, but still certain advice may be given. First of all it is important to differentiate acute from chronic pseudocysts for management, but at the same time not miss cystic neoplasias. Conservative treatment should always be considered the first option (pseudocysts should not be treated just because they are there). However, if intervention is needed, a procedure that is well known should always be considered first. The results of percutaneous or endoscopic drainage are probably more dependent on the experience of the interventionist than the choice of procedure and if surgery is needed, an intern anastomosis can hold sutures not until several weeks (if possible 6 weeks).     

Endoscopic treatment of pancreatic pseudocysts

Background  

This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of therapeutic endoscopy in the treatment of pancreatic pseudocysts, and to define factors limiting endoscopic therapy.     

Endoscopic drainage of pancreatic pseudocysts

Summary Seventeen patients with pancreatic pseudocysts were treated by endoscopic drainage. In nine cases we performed endoscopic retrograde pancreatic drainage (ERPD) by inserting 7-Fr pigtail catheters via the papilla into the cyst or into the main pancreatic duct. In two cases transduodenal cystotomy (ECD) and in eight cases transgastral cystotomy (ECG) are performed by using coagulator and papillotome. In five cases of ECG an endoprosthesis was inserted into the cyst. In two cases combination therapy of ERPD and ECG was performed. All patients reported reduction of continuous pain and postprandial epigastralgia after placement of endoprosthesis. After disappearance of symptoms and abnormal endoscopic findings within a period of 2–12 months the drainage tubes were removed. In one case postoperative dislocation of the prosthesis was observed; no serious complication was not encountered. The period of observation varied from 5 to 40 months. Two patients are presently under treatment with endoprostheses. Endoscopic drainage yielded good results in the treatment of pancreatic pseudocysts.