According to a study published in the New England there are more advantages in traditional surgery than in endoscopy for removing the obstruction of the pancreatic duct, one of the causes of chronic pancreatitis, and for more quickly alleviating the patient’s pain.  In fact, 75% of patients that underwent classic surgery relieved their pain, compared to 32% of those who used endoscopy in a study of 39 patients.

This investigation does not deny the advantages of the minimally invasive intervention by endoscopy; but with the obtained results the selection of one technique or the other should be the patient’s decision.

Chronic pancreatitis is an inflammation of the pancreas, gland that produces digestive enzymes and insulin.  In many cases it is associated to alcoholism, although in other cases it does not have a certain origin. This pathology becomes hard to treat when analgesics are not able to control the pain provoked by the obstruction of the pancreatic conduct, making it necessary to use surgical procedures.

In the last two decades a minimally invasive intervention has been used, the pancreatic endoscopy, which consists of introducing a catheter with a balloon for opening the width of the pancreatic canal. The investigation of the Academic Medical Center of Amsterdam, published in the New England, concludes that surgical draining is more effective. The research was ended even before the original due date by the safety committee because of “the significant difference in results”.

Source: LatinSalud.com with data from El Mundo, 15/02/2007

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