Endoscopic pancreatic sphincterotomy--technique and evaluation.

Endoscopic pancreatic sphincterotomy has been developed as a new method of treatment of chronic pancreatitis in our institution since 1982. We introduced pancreatic sphincterotomy as a safe technique, after performing it successfully in 21 cases of chronic pancreatitis without any complications, and relieving both abdominal and back pain in 19 of the cases. Recently, we have added endoscopic elimination of viscid pancreatic juice including protein plugs. This report describes our procedure of pancreatic sphincterotomy in detail, and evaluates it in the endoscopic treatment of chronic pancreatitis.