On-table pancreatography: importance in planning operative strategy.

We describe our experience with 124 on-table pancreatograms performed during 117 operative procedures on 112 patients in a wide variety of clinical settings. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) was performed on 84 occasions with a 73 per cent success rate for visualization of the main pancreatic duct. On-table pancreatography (OTP) was performed by one of five different techniques: retrograde, prograde or ambigrade ductography, cystography and ascending loopography after pancreaticojejunostomy. OTP provided important information about the main pancreatic duct when endoscopic visualization was unsuccessful (n = 23), incomplete (n = 17) or not performed (n = 33); there was a failure rate of 4 per cent. In 35 patients either the additional information or discrepancies between ERCP and OTP findings resulted in a change of operative plan (19 extra procedures, 16 altered procedures). Complete ductography was especially helpful in the 63 patients with chronic pancreatitis. OTP is technically simple, free from complications and invaluable for planning operative strategy.