Pseudocysts in chronic pancreatitis. Surgical results in 102 consecutive patients

Preoperative symptoms, diagnoses, and postoperative outcomes in 102 consecutive patients with pancreatic pseudocysts were analyzed. Upper epigastric pain, loss of weight, obstructive jaundice, and sudden arterial bleeding from the pseudocyst were the most common preoperative symptoms. Ultrasonography, computed tomography, and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography were the most useful diagnostic tools in the evaluation of the presence, size, location, and possible pancreatic ductal communications of the pseudocyst. In a single thick-walled pseudocyst, the best long-term results were achieved by internal drainage. Pancreatic resection is justified if the patient already has diabetes or multiple pseudocysts or if the pseudocyst is not amenable to internal drainage. The most fatal preoperative complication was a sudden arterial bleeding from a pseudocyst. In treating this complication, hemostasis with transcystic arterial ligation and external drainage of the pseudocyst gave the best results.     

Pseudocysts of the pancreas in children

Sixteen children with pancreatic pseudocysts were treated from 1965-1988. Blunt trauma was the etiology of pseudocyst formation in 69 per cent of children with 50 per cent resulting from the abdomen impacting bicycle handlebars. Chronic pancreatitis is an uncommon cause of pseudocyst formation in children. Medical therapy is directed towards reduction of pancreatic stimulation and nutritional support, which are maintained through pseudocyst resolution or maturation. Pseudocysts spontaneously resolved in 25 per cent of patients. Complications occurred in 25 per cent during nonoperative management. Children may safely undergo internal drainage earlier than adults (3-4 weeks vs 6 weeks). Internal drainage by cystoenterostomy was curative in eight patients. Persistent fistula drainage developed for five weeks in one patient who had surgical external pseudocyst drainage. One patient required distal pancreatectomy for a transected pancreatic duct. Spontaneous resolution of psseudocysts while on medical therapy is more frequent in children than in adults, and major complications (abscess formation, hemorrhage, and fistula formation) are usually not encountered. Pseudocyst rupture is the major complication of conservative management. We had no pseudocyst recurrences and 11 of 12 children treated surgically were discharged home within ten days of operation.     

Bleeding Pseudocyst of the Pancreatic Head. The role of Omentoplasty and Local Hemostasis

Treatment of bleeding psedoaneurysms and pseudocysts of the pancreas is controversial. Surgical treatment with pancreatic resection or trancystic arterial ligation is not always satisfactory since postoperative mortality rate is high, especially for lesions located in the pancreatic head and rebleeding is not unusual. Two patients with bleeding pseudoaneurysms (one post traumatic, one spontaneous) and one with a hemorrhagic pseudocyst of the pancreatic head were treated surgically with arterial suture and omentoplasty. Bleeding was controlled in all, without any postoperative mortality or morbidity. No rebleeding occurred with a follow up of 33, 26 and 12 months. Trancystic ligation of bleeding vessels with omentoplasty may be a useful approach, which should be compared to arterial embolization in the future.     

Percutaneous catheter drainage of pancreatic pseudocysts.

Pancreatic pseudocysts represent a complication of severe pancreatic inflammatory disease. Although operative drainage is the cornerstone of therapy for pseudocysts, we have undertaken percutaneous catheter drainage in a selected group of 28 patients over a six-year period (1982-88). This represents 42 per cent of pseudocyst patients managed by the senior author and 1.7 per cent of admissions for pancreatitis at the Medical University Hospitals during that period of time. There were 26 men and two women with an age range of 26-66 years (mean = 42.1). Twenty-six patients had alcohol abuse as the cause of pancreatitis; two were due to surgical trauma. Nondilated pancreatic ducts were demonstrated in 25 patients. Six had pancreatic ascites associated with pseudocysts. Four had previous operative drainage (2 internal and 2 external drainage procedures). Five patients received octreotide acetate, a synthetic peptide which mimics the action of somatostatin, in an attempt to aid closure of external fistulas. The mean length of catheter drainage was 48 days (range 7-210 days). Eight (29%) patients developed procedure-related complications (1 pneumothorax, 1 sheared guidewire, six drain tract infections). There was no mortality. Successful resolution of pseudocysts was achieved in 26 patients (93%). Two patients subsequently had elective caudal pancreaticojejunostomy (CPJ), and one lateral pancreaticojejunostomy (LPJ) to drain obstructed pancreatic ducts. One patient has required repeat external drainage. Percutaneous external drainage is successful in pseudocyst eradication. When underlying pancreatic pathology remains uncorrected, elective surgical decompression of obstructed, dilated ducts may be necessary.     

Haemorrhagic complications of pancreatitis: presentation, diagnosis and management.

Massive haemorrhage is an uncommon complication in pancreatitis. Most affected patients suffer from chronic disease with associated pseudocyst. We present five patients (four male) with a mean age of 41 years (range 34-48 years). All patients had alcohol-induced pancreatitis complicated either by haematemesis (3), intraperitoneal haemorrhage (1) or both haematemesis and intraperitoneal haemorrhage (1). Source of bleeding was pseudocyst wall (2), splenic artery pseudoaneurysm (2) and splenic artery rupture (1). Distal pancreatectomy and splenectomy was performed in two patients, intracystic ligation and drainage in two, and packing with subsequent external drainage in one. Rebleeding occurred in two patients and required subsequent distal pancreatectomy and splenectomy in one; the other patient died of splenic rupture. No rebleeding and no mortality occurred after resection. Primary pancreatic resection is recommended whenever possible. Other management options include embolisation and ligation.     

Gastrointestinal hemorrhage from pseudoaneurysms in pancreatic pseudocysts

Gastrointestinal hemorrhage secondary to hemosuccus pancreaticus is a rare condition that poses a significant diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. It is reported to occur most commonly in the setting of acute or chronic pancreatitis with rupture of pseudoaneurysms of the spleen or hepatic artery into the pancreatic duct. In this report three such cases have been reported. Abdominal ultrasound and CT scanning can noninvasively define pancreatic pseudocysts with a high degree of accuracy. Real-time ultrasonography may document a pulsatile pseudoaneurysm. Radionuclide arterial scanning, by demonstrating pooling of blood in the area of a pseudocyst, can point to the source of bleeding in patients with pancreatitis and gastrointestinal hemorrhage. Selective celiac angiography, however, is the only diagnostic test that can definitively outline a pseudoaneurysm and demonstrate its rupture into a pseudocyst or into the pancreatic duct. Pancreatic resection including excision of the pseudoaneurysm and pseudocyst (when present) is the treatment of choice. In cases where resection is not possible, ligation of the artery proximal and distal to the pseudoaneurysm and drainage of the pseudocyst into the gastrointestinal tract is an acceptable alternative procedure. Although intraarterial catheter embolization of the bleeding vessel can be a lifesaving procedure in these very sick patients, subsequent resection of the lesion is warranted as the definitive treatment.     

Simultaneous treatment of chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic pseudocyst

Records from 87 consecutive patients undergoing lateral pancreaticojejunostomy (LPJ) for chronic pancreatitis were reviewed to determine the incidence of pseudocyst and the safety of combined pancreatic duct and pseudocyst drainage. Twelve patients had undergone previous pancreatic pseudocyst drainage; four of them also had pancreatic pseudocysts present at the time of LPJ. In addition, 22 patients had pseudocysts identified preoperatively and/or confirmed at operation. The overall incidence of pseudocyst was 39%. Twenty-six patients (group 1) underwent pancreaticojejunostomy combined with pseudocyst drainage. Sixty-one patients (group 2) underwent pancreaticojejunostomy only. Operative morbidity and mortality results (19% and 8%, respectively, in group 1; 18% and 2%, respectively, in group 2) were similar. Patient outcome was also similar in the two groups (81% and 84% of patients obtained pain relief in groups 1 and 2, respectively). There were no pseudocyst recurrences in either group. Thus, there is a high incidence (39%) of pancreatic pseudocyst in patients undergoing LPJ for chronic pancreatitis. Combined drainage of the pancreatic duct and pseudocyst is safe and effective.     

Results of cystoduodenostomy for treatment of pancreatic pseudocysts

To evaluate the safety and efficacy of cystoduodenostomy, the cases of 117 patients operated on for pancreatic pseudocysts during the last 14 years have been reviewed. Eleven patients were treated with cystoduodenostomy. They included ten men and one woman whose ages ranged from 26 to 56 years (mean 41 years). The etiology of pancreatitis was alcohol abuse in nine patients, alcohol abuse and gallstones in one, and trauma in one. Three patients had another cyst located within the body or tail of the pancreas which was identified preoperatively by ultrasound. Each patient underwent transduodenal cystoduodenostomy and three had a concomitant cystogastrostomy for a second pseudocyst. There was no operative mortality. Morbidity included postoperative pancreatitis in one patient, a wound infection and pancreatic fistula in one, and excessive bleeding from the cyst in one. There were no injuries to the common bile duct. Upon follow-up, which ranges from 6 months to 8 years, none of the patients has had a persistent or recurrent pseudocyst. This has been confirmed by ultrasound or computerized tomography (CT scan) in nine patients. Transduodenal cystoduodenostomy is a safe, reliable means of internal drainage for mature pseudocysts that are located in the head of the pancreas adjacent to the duodenum. Preoperative evaluation of the pancreas to rule out multiple pseudocysts and intraoperative care to avoid injury to the common bile duct are important factors in obtaining these good results.     

Large intestine bleeding caused by the lienal artery pseudoaneurysm rupture complicating a pancreatic pseudocyst

Bleeding pseudoaneurysm of a peripancreatic artery is a rare cause of gastrointestinal haemorrhage. Arterial pseudoaneurysm develops as a result of partial enzymatic damage of arterial wall in acute or chronic pancreatitis. The authors report the case of a 60-years old man with bleeding into the lienal flexure of the colon due to the erosion of the pseudoaneurysm of a branch of splenic artery into the pancreatic pseudocyst in the tail region of the pancreas communicating with the colon. The diagnosis was established by CT-scan and angiography. The patient underwent surgery with the ligation of the bleeding vessel and the resection of the part of the colon.     

Acute haemorrhage associated with pancreatic pseudocyst and chronic pancreatitis

The present study reports 18 patients operated on for chronic pancreatitis complicated by bleeding in the upper gastrointestinal tract, the peritoneal cavity or the retroperitoneal space. Damage to the splenic artery by a pancreatic pseudocyst was the most common reason for the bleeding (10 patients, 56%) and the most common site was the duodenum (10 patients, 56%). Eleven patients were treated by transcystic multiple suture ligations combined with external drainage of the pseudocyst, and seven by pancreatic resection or total pancreatectomy. Hospital mortality was 33% (6 patients); two patients had undergone transcystic suture ligation, and four pancreatic resection. Five patients needed a reoperation because of further bleeding, four of them having been treated initially by transcystic suture ligation. Our results suggest that haemostasis by suture ligation is a method to be recommended if the patient's condition has been exacerbated by severe haemorrhage.     

Differentiating pancreatic pseudocyst and pancreatic necrosis using computerized tomography.

Ten per cent of patients with acute pancreatitis will develop pancreatic complications. Differentiating pancreatic pseudocyst formation from pancreatic necrosis may be difficult based on clinical grounds. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the role of computerized tomography in differentiating these processes. A retrospective analysis was performed of 40 patients who developed pancreatic complications following an episode of acute pancreatitis and who subsequently underwent operation for drainage of their pancreatic fluid collections. All 40 patients had abdominal CT scans performed before surgery and the patients were then categorized on the basis of CT findings as having (1) a pseudocyst with a well-defined cyst wall, (2) peripancreatic fluid marked by the absence of a cyst wall, and (3) a combination of a pseudocyst as well as free peripancreatic fluid. Patients with pseudocysts had an average hospital stay of 14 +/- 2 days, a hospital morbidity rate of 16%, and a hospital mortality rate of 0%. In contrast, patients with peripancreatic fluid collections had an average hospital stay of 43 +/- 4 days (p less than 0.01) and hospital morbidity and mortality rates of 74% (p less than 0.01) and 22% (p less than 0.05), respectively. Patients with both pseudocysts and peripancreatic fluid collections behaved in a similar fashion to patients with peripancreatic fluid alone as characterized by a prolonged hospital stay and a high incidence (80%) of postoperative complications. At one year follow-up, 89% of the patients with pseudocysts were asymptomatic, whereas only 13% (p less than 0.01) of patients with peripancreatic fluid were symptom free. These data demonstrate that pseudocyst and peripancreatic fluid collections have markedly different biologic characteristics both in their short-term and long-term behavior. The results suggest that CT scanning can differentiate these processes and may help in directing the appropriate surgical therapy.     

A guide to the frequency of nipple involvement in breast cancer. A study of 149 consecutive mastectomies using a serial subgross and correlated radiographic technique.

Between 1971 and 1976, ninety-three patients with a clinical diagnosis of pseudocyst confirmed by ultrasonography were identified from a group of 923 patients admitted for pancreatic disease. Uncertainties in diagnosis and/or rapid progression of underlying pancreatitis led to urgent laparotomy and drainage in eleven of the ninety-three patients. Another twenty-eight patients underwent elective drainage of the pseudocyst. The remaining fifty-four constituted the study group and were followed with serial clinical and sonographic examinations until either spontaneous resolution occurred, complications developed, or the patients did not return. Complications arising during the period of observation in the untreated patients (rupture, abscess, jaundice, and hemorrhage) occurred more than twice as commonly as spontaneous resolution (41 per cent versus 20 per cent), and led directly to death in seven cases (14 per cent). No deaths occurred in the group of patients undergoing elective surgical drainage (p < 0.05). The interval between presumed formation of the pseudocyst and the development of a complication averaged 13.5 ± 6 weeks. Prolonged observation of pancreatic pseudocysts in the expectation of spontaneous resolution exposed the patient to an unwarranted risk, which, after seven weeks, greatly exceeded the mortality of elective surgery.     

Management of bleeding pseudoaneurysms in patients with pancreatitis

BACKGROUND: Bleeding pseudoaneurysm is a rare but frequently fatal complication in patients with pancreatitis. METHOD: The medical records of ten patients who presented to this institution with a bleeding pseudoaneurysm between 1978 and 1997 were reviewed retrospectively. Six patients had chronic pancreatitis and four had acute pancreatitis. The splenic artery was involved in six cases, a pancreaticoduodenal artery in two, the gastroduodenal artery in one and the cystic artery in one. RESULTS: Computed tomography (CT) revealed the bleeding pseudoaneurysm in all patients (n = 6) with chronic pancreatitis but in only one of three with acute pancreatitis. Arteriography always gave the correct diagnosis. Seven patients underwent pancreatic resection as an emergency (n = 3) or within 48 h (n = 4), and survived. Three patients presenting with acute pancreatitis and massive bleeding underwent transcatheter arterial embolization. Two of them had a favourable outcome and one died from a recurrent haemorrhage 7 days later. Overall, two patients suffered significant perioperative complications and one died. CONCLUSION: CT is accurate in the diagnosis of pseudoaneurysms complicating pseudocysts. Primary resection of the pseudoaneurysm, which frequently requires pancreatic resection, is the treatment of choice. Angiography followed by transcatheter embolization is effective, but should be rapidly followed by operation.     

超声内镜引导下经胃引流治疗早期胰腺假性囊肿23例

目的 探讨超声内镜引导下经胃引流治疗早期胰腺假性囊肿的疗效.方法 回顾性分析2003至2008年在超声内镜引导下早期经胃穿刺置管引流进行治疗的23例巨大胰腺假性囊肿患者的临床资料.结果 假性囊肿位于胰头部3例,胰体部11例,胰尾部9例,囊肿平均直径11 cm(8～18 cm),均为单发囊性,所有病例在超声内镜引导下经胃引流治疗胰腺假性囊肿,假性囊肿发现至穿刺手术间隔17～65d,平均31 d.2例术后发生囊肿感染,1例改用外引流,另1例改用手术内引流治疗治愈;3例出现消化道出血,保守治疗后治愈.2～3个月后CT复查,6例患者假性囊肿完全消失,余15例患者囊肿明显缩小,所有患者腹胀、腹痛症状缓解.随访1年,无溃疡、出血、囊腔感染等并发症发生.结论 超声引导下早期经胃穿刺置管引流治疗胰腺假性囊肿是安全、有效的.     

胰腺假性囊肿诊治体会

回顾性分析近１５年来对２３例胰腺假性囊肿的治疗情况。保守治愈５例,均为近期患急性胰腺炎者;手术治疗１８例,其中外引流１例,内外流１４例,囊肿切除术３例。结果 无手术死亡,外引流术后胰瘘１例,囊肿切除术后复发１例,内引流术后无严重并发症出现。认为急性囊肿应观察６周,有些病例有自行消散的可能,慢性囊肿一经确诊即行内流引治疗,内引流是目前较理想的有效手术方式。     

胰腺假性囊肿的治疗研究

目的评价胰腺假性囊肿不同治疗方式的效果。方法对1990年1月至2003年4月收治的128例胰腺假性囊肿不同处理方式的效果及并发症进行回顾性分析。结果128例患者中30例未行手术治疗,其中3例失访,27例在随访期间囊肿自行吸收。B超引导下经皮置管引流组22例,有效率60%。外科手术治疗76例,死亡率5.3%(4/76),手术方式包括:外引流10例,死亡率20%(2/10);囊肿胃吻合术14例,术后消化道出血的发生率为42.9%(6/14),死亡率7.1%(1/14);囊肿空肠Roux-en-Y吻合术28例,术后消化道出血的发生率10.7%(3/28),死亡率0%;囊肿十二指肠吻合术3例,死亡率33.3%(1/3);假性囊肿切除术21例。结论B超引导下经皮置管引流创伤小,操作相对简单,但尚未能完全取代传统手术。囊肿胃吻合术后消化道出血的发生率高于囊肿空肠Roux-en-Y吻合术。对于怀疑为真性囊肿或囊腺癌者,应尽量手术切除。     

Laparoscopic endogastric pseudocyst gastrostomy: a report of three cases

The transgastric pseudocyst-gastrostomy is the standard approach for internal drainage of persistent and large retrogastric pancreatic pseudocysts that complicate acute necrotizing pancreatitis. We report on the application of a laparoscopic endogastric approach for drainage of pancreatic pseudocysts and discuss the merits of this technique as well as of the other previously described minimally invasive approaches for the management of pancreatic pseudocysts. Between January 2001 and August 2001, three female patients presented with large symptomatic pseudocysts 3-10 months after an episode of acute necrotizing pancreatitis. Internal drainage was effected by a laparoscopic endogastric pseudocyst gastrostomy, and the necrotic pancreas was debrided. There were no conversions and no postoperative complications. The median postoperative hospital stay was 4 days (range, 3-5). All patients remain asymptomatic, and resolution of the pseudocyst was radiologically evident at a median follow-up of 6 months (range, 4-11). The laparoscopic endogastric pseudocyst gastrostomy appears to be a safe and effective minimally invasive approach for internal drainage of large retrogastric pancreatic pseudocysts and facilitates debridement of the necrotic pancreas.     

Carcinoma masquerading as a pancreatic pseudocyst on ultrasound

Ultrasound has proven invaluable in detecting and evaluating pancreatic pseudocysts, and it is now a standard test to rule out complications of pancreatitis. In reviewing the authors' experience with 122 patients treated surgically for a pancreatic pseudocyst, five patients were identified in whom an ultrasound demonstrated a pseudocyst that was associated with an unexpected cancer at the time of operation. A sixth patient, with a pseudocyst documented by ultrasound, died prior to surgery and was found at autopsy to have metastatic common bile duct carcinoma. There was little difference in presenting symptoms, age, frequency of alcoholism, or physical findings compared with patients with pseudocysts secondary to pancreatitis. In two patients, pseudocysts were found in the tail of the pancreas at operation, in addition to carcinoma. In the other three patients, no pseudocyst was found; however, a subcapsular splenic hematoma was present in one. Five patients had metastatic disease, three from pancreatic adenocarcinoma, one from islet cell carcinoma, and one from a common bile duct carcinoma. One patient with a pancreatic adenocarcinoma confined to the head underwent a Whipple procedure and has no evidence of disease 6 months later. Malignancy may cause or coexist with pancreatic pseudocysts. Ultrasound is often not helpful in distinguishing pseudocysts associated with malignancy from those associated with pancreatitis. Biopsy should be performed to rule out malignancy when operating for pancreatic pseudocysts.     

Operative treatment of pseudocysts in patients with chronic pancreatitis

BACKGROUND: Pseudocysts associated with chronic pancreatitis are generally intrapancreatic and associated with parenchymal disease. They tend to persist and cause complications. Minimally invasive methods of treatment challenge the traditional techniques of operative management. Surgical operation allows definitive treatment of the pseudocyst with the option of dealing appropriately with the diseased pancreas and excluding a neoplastic process. The aim of this study was to review the safety and efficacy of a surgical approach to the management of pseudocysts associated with chronic pancreatitis. METHODS: A personal series of 112 consecutive patients operated for pseudocysts in the setting of chronic pancreatitis was reviewed. Chronic pancreatitis was confirmed by imaging studies in association with exocrine and/or endocrine failure. Cysts were multiple in 31 patients and presented with complications other than pain in 47. Data were collected prospectively regarding the clinical presentation, the nature of the operation and its outcome. RESULTS: Forty-eight patients (43 per cent) underwent drainage procedures, 56 (50 per cent) had a resection and eight (7 per cent) had a combination. Larger cysts and those located in the head and neck tended to be drained, while smaller and distal cysts were more often resected. The morbidity rate was 28 per cent and the operative mortality rate was 1 per cent. The cyst recurrence rate was 3 per cent and pain was relieved in 74 per cent of patients. CONCLUSION: Operative management of pseudocysts associated with chronic pancreatitis is effective with low morbidity and mortality rates. The introduction of newer minimally invasive techniques will have to withstand comparison to this traditional approach.     

Gastric outlet and duodenal obstruction from inflammatory pancreatic disease

During a ten-year period, 16 patients with gastric outlet and duodenal obstruction due to inflammatory pancreatic disease were seen. The cause of obstruction was chronic pancreatitis in ten patients, pseudocysts with associated pancreatitis in five patients, and pancreatic abscess in one patient. All patients had nausea and vomiting, 14 had abdominal pain, and five had weight loss greater than 4.5 kg. Diagnosis was made by plain abdominal film in one case, upper gastrointestinal tract roentgenographic series in 15 cases, and endoscopy in 11 cases. Mobilization of the duodenum relieved the obstruction in two patients. Fixed obstruction remained in 14 patients. This was relieved by gastrojejunostomy in 12 patients. Gastrojejunostomy was combined with drainage of a pseudocyst in three patients, a dilated pancreatic duct in three patients, and a dilated common bile duct in four patients. Obstruction was relieved by pseudocyst drainage in two patients. Associated common duct and pancreatic duct obstruction must be identified preoperatively.