Acute pancreatitis: the role of early surgery

Conservative treatment for an attack of acute pancreatitis still takes priority. The treatment of choice in biliary pancreatitis is endoscopic papillotomy with extraction of any bile duct stones. After this procedure the patient usually recovers quickly and cholecystectomy should be done as an interval operation. An early operation has to be done when conservative treatment fails and organ failure occurs. The 'gold standard' of surgical therapy today is the opening of the lesser sac with continuous postoperative lavage and drainage, digital elimination of necrotic tissue and drainage of the paracolic areas. Other described surgical procedures do not produce significantly better results. Necrotizing pancreatitis still has a high mortality in contrast to mild oedematous pancreatitis, which is rarely a problem.