[Surgical treatment of chronic calcifying pancreatitis]

A total of 58 patients with chronic pancreatitis had undergone partial duodenopancreatectomy. They were subdivided by histological differentiation according to the presence or absence of calcification and it was found that pancreatic function was far more severely reduced in patients with organ calcification. Exocrine insufficiency was also more marked in these patients, as shown by the weight and fat content of their stool. Enzyme substitution therapy usually has no complications. Endocrine function was also affected, as seen in the preoperative presence of diabetes in 36% of patients with pancreatic stones, three times that of those with sclerosing pancreatitis. Resection of the pancreatic head led to an increase of 12%, i.e. 48%. This indicates that non-resecting operations are preferable in calcifying pancreatitis. Recommendations are made as to the choice of partial duodenopancreatectomy or pancreaticojejunostomy, depending on radiological classification, the course of the disease and the symptoms in each individual case.