A new abdominal drain for overflowing lavage in instances of severe pancreatitis with persistent peritoneal contamination.

Eight patients with severe acute necrotizing pancreatitis had a new removable drainage device applied which allowed for massive lavage drainage with water tightness and easy repeated abdominal and retroperitoneal revisions. The lavage clears the enzymes and the toxic products that continuously soil the abdomen and affect all other systems. Simultaneously, it acts as a peritoneal dialysis. There were no complications and the 50 per cent survival rate at three months compares favorably with that of corresponding instances in another study (p less than 0.02).