[Massive gastrointestinal hemorrhage following internal drainage of pancreatic pseudocysts]

In operative treatment of pancreatic pseudocysts by inner drainage there is a risk of massive gastrointestinal bleeding particularly following an anastomosis to the stomach. In 10 patients in whom cystogastrostomy or cystoduodenostomy had been performed elsewhere a second laparotomy was necessary because of acute bleeding. In one patient a cystadenoma of the pancreas had been anastomosed to the duodenum by mistake at the previous operation. The leak of obliteration of the cyst is suggested to be the most important factor in the pathophysiology of bleeding. Inner pseudocyst drainage in a disconnected small bowel loop therefore principally should be performed at the lowest point of the cyst. The indication for an inner cyst drainage, however, must be closely examined since simultaneous pathologic changes in the pancreas often justify a resection to remove the origin of the cyst and, further, averting the complications of an inadequate inner pancreatic cyst drainage.