Surgical treatment of chronic pancreatitis and quality of life after operation

Recent re-evaluation of the natural course of chronic pancreatitis has sugg ested that many patients do not experience pain alleviation with progressiv e "burning out" of the organ. Thus, therapeutic nihilism is not warranted i n chronic pancreatitis, especially because criteria to select those patient s becoming eventually pain-free do not exist. Concurrently, many new therap eutic options have emerged, such as endoscopic interventions combined with extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy and modern organ-sparing surgical pro cedures. This article reviews the background and results of these modern su rgical alternatives to classical drainage and resection procedures with spe cial regard to duality of life, which turns out to be the crucial endpoint for the patient.