[Percutaneous puncture and drainage under ultrasonic control of pancreatic pseudocysts]

Eighty-seven pancreatic pseudocysts have been treated with a single or repeated puncture, which was or was not followed by percutaneous drainage. When the diameter of the cyst was smaller than 5 cm, it was healed in 83.3% of all cases. When the size of the cysts ranged from 6 to 10 cm, puncture alone allowed curing them in 57.1% of all cases, otherwise it had to be completed by drainage. On the other hand, puncture alone was not sufficient for cysts with a diameter exceeding 10 cm, and an associated suction or surgical drainage was required. In the light of this experience, we can bring out the respective indications of single and multiple puncture and of percutaneous drainage, while taking account both of the size and of the etiological and clinicopathological features of the pseudocysts. In addition, this study allows assessing the incidence of the complications associated to this type of treatment.