Duodenum preserving pancreatic head resection in the treatment of chronic pancreatitis.

Chronic pancreatitis is an inflammatory disease which is characterized by a progressive conversion of pancreatic parenchyma into fibrous tissue. Most frequent causes are alcohol over-consumption, beside anatomic variants such as pancreas divisum, cholelithiasis or individual genetic predisposition. The process of fibrotic transformation with consecutive loss of pancreatic parenchyma leads to exocrine insufficiency and maldigestion, and in advanced stage of the disease to diabetes mellitus. In addition to exocrine and endocrine malfunction, mechanical complications such as formation of pancreatic pseudocysts, duodenal and common bile duct obstruction occur. About 50% of the patients with chronic pancreatitis will need surgical intervention due to intractable chronic pain. Recent investigations suggest that the head of the pancreas triggers the chronic inflammatory process. Therefore, resection of this inflammatory mass must be regarded as the pivotal part of any surgical intervention. Radical techniques such as Whipple-procedure are undoubtedly successful regarding pain reduction. However, even in its pylorus preserving variant this technique is associated with a high postoperative morbidity due to large loss of pancreatic parenchyma and the loss of the duodenal passage. 30 years ago, H. G. Beger described for the first time the technique of duodenum preserving pancreatic head resection that better combines resection of the pancreatic head with low morbidity. Over the years different variations of the original Beger technique (Frey, Izbicky, Berne modification) have been developed, and the excellent results obtained with these techniques underline, that organ sparing procedures should be preferred in the surgical treatment of chronic pancreatitis.