Conservative surgery in acute pancreatitis

During the years 1955-1970, 260 patients were treated for acute pancreatitis in the surgical department of the Maria Hospital. 62 of them were operated on, 44 electively, and 18 as emergency cases. The main conclusions from this series are as follows: 1) if laparotomy is required, efficient debridement and drainage are of great importance, 2) random operative decompression of the biliary duct system is statistically of little benefit, 3) in most cases purely conservative treatment or conservative surgery, taking into account individual conditions, gives good results, but obviously more radical measures are necessary for a favourable outcome in the most severe cases, as reported in the current literature, 4) in elective surgery it is important to postpone the curative operation by several weeks, preferably months, when possible, to avoid exacerbation or relapse of the disease.