[Chronic pancreatitis--the current state of surgical treatment]

The surgical therapy of chronic pancreatitis has been enriched by the progress of diagnostics in gastroenterology and radiology. This includes as well the definition of indication for surgery as the choice of the most suitable operative procedure. Thus today an individual surgery with regard to the morphological findings is possible by making allowance for the patients personality on the one hand and for the pathologic changes of the gland on the other. Long term follow-up studies of the last years have shown good results after pancreaticojejunostomies and particularly after pancreatic resections. In our twelve years-experience with chronic pancreatitis there is a preference for resection therapy too.