Necrotizing pancreatitis during pregnancy: A rare cause and review of the literature

Acute pancreatitis is an uncommon cause of abdominal pain during pregnancy, and rarely progresses to the necrotizing form of the disease in this clini cal setting. Hyperlipidemia is an infrequent cause of acute pancreatitis. W hereas only 100 cases of hyperlipidemia-induced necrotizing pancreatitis ha ve been reported in the literature to date, all of the cases were mild in s everity and responsive to conservative medical management. Herein we presen t a case of life-threatening necrotizing pancreatitis, which developed in a hyperlipidemic pregnant woman and required multiple peripartum pancreatic necrosectomies. Additionally, we review the evaluation of pregnant patients with abdominal pain, the pathophysiology of hyperlipidemia-induced necroti zing pancreatitis, and the operative care of this challenging group of pati ents, revisiting an innovative technique for management of the retroperiton eum.