B. Moran et al., PANCREATIC PSEUDOCYST SHOULD BE TREATED BY SURGICAL DRAINAGE, Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, 76(1), 1994, pp. 54-58
This debate reviews the arguments in favour of surgical or non-surgica
l techniques for the management of pancreatic pseudocysts. Surgery pro
vides definitive management and has a low risk of recurrence; pancreat
ic resection may be required to achieve this. Surgical treatment of pa
ncreatic pseudocyst is safe, with little morbidity and low mortality,
and surgical drainage allows biopsy of the cyst wall to exclude a cyst
ic neoplasm of the pancreas. Percutaneous techniques have the advantag
e of low morbidity and mortality, with less discomfort to the patient
than a surgical incision. In selected patients, a good result can be a
nticipated. The balance of the evidence suggests that both approaches
are useful in different patients. Pseudocyst management should be tail
ored to each individual case.