[Complications of chronic pancreatitis and surgical indications]

Chronic pancreatitis may be complicated by the development of pseudocysts or fistulas. Structures surrounding the pancreas such as the bile duct, the duodenum, and peripancreatic vessels may also become altered and cause further complications. Indications and tactics to treat isolated complications are clearly defined in literature. Unfortunately, complications of chronic pancreatitis are rarely isolated and often arise in a context of chronic pain resistant to conservative treatment. Operations aiming at treating these complications in sparing pancreatic tissue should be considered as palliative in the majority of cases. Operations aiming at treating the complications at their origin by resection of the altered pancreas seem to offer definitive treatment to many patients. The treatment of complications of chronic pancreatitis remains controversial.