Effective extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy for pancreatic duct stone

A 55-year-old man with alcoholic chronic pancreatitis was hospitalized for further treatment of intractable repeated upper abdominal pain. A laboratory data showed normal hepatobiliary enzymes and glucose tolerance test, but abnormal pancreatic enzymes including amylase, lipase, trypsin and elastase I. Pancreatic function diagnostant test was 71%. Abdominal ultrasound examination and computed tomography showed an approximately 4 mm main pancreatic duct stone and multiple small stones in the surrounding parenchyma, and the findings being compatible with chronic pancreatitis. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatrography revealed that there was a main pancreatic duct stone in the pancreas head, and that the caudal pancreatic duct could not be visualized due to the impacted stone. In addition, intrapancreatic bile duct showed no malignant irregularity, but pancreatitis-induced smooth narrowing. The patient underwent extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) alone, because endoscopic manipulation for pancreatic stone removal was impossible due to tightly impacted stone with stenosis. Successful ESWL was achieved with the stone disappearance and without any complication.