Acute pancreatitis of biliary origin: Is urgent operation necessary?

In a group of 127 patients with biliary pancreatitis, 60 percent had operation during the same admission after clinical improvement. Only four patients had operation less than 48 hours after admission, and 6 of 25 patients having elective surgery during a later admission had recurrent pancreatitis. Using the delayed approach, the surgeon infrequently finds severe pancreatitis or impacted ampullary stones. Very careful technique in performing common duct exploration is crucial in decreasing morbidity and mortality.