[Circulatory arrest after splanchnic neurolysis with phenol in unresectable cancer of the pancreas].

One of the treatments for pain in patients with unresectable pancreatic cancer is chemical splanchnicectomy by phenol. We report two cases of severe cardiac arrhythmia followed by circulatory arrest, during intraoperative chemical splanchnicectomy. The cardiac toxicity of phenol is known in plastic surgery (face peeling). The reasons for this toxicity are not well known. We recommend that phenol be replaced by alcohol during chemical splanchnicectomy, because of its safety.