OUR APPROACH TO THE SURGICAL-TREATMENT OF CHRONIC-PANCREATITIS

Background/Aims: Optimal surgical management of the patients suffering of chronic pancreatitis still remains a controversial problem. The ba se for the evaluation of patients is for us the Marseille-Roma classif ication from 1988 with 4 fundamental types of the disease. Surgical th erapy is usually indicated in, patients with intractable or continuous pain, stenosis of the common bile duct and duodenal stenosis. The sou rce of the above mentioned problems is related to the head of the panc reas and rue prefer as the procedure of choice duodenum sparing resect ion of the pancreatic head. Methodology: Seventy patients were treated by our team in the years from 1985 to 1995 surgically and 55 of these patients underwent resection of the head of the pancreas. Results: Ei ghteen patients were treated by hemipancreatoduodenectomy and 37 patie nts by the duodenum sparing resection of the pancreatic head. Conclusi on: Left sided resection and drainage procedures appear to be much les s effective from the point of view of long term follow-up.