A case of post-gastrectomy acute pancreatitis

October 16, 2009

A clinical research team from Taiwan reported a case of asymptomatic pancreatic divisum who underwent palliative subtotal gastrectomy for an advanced gastric cancer with liver metastasis. They concluded for patients with pancreas divisum or dominant duct of Santorini who fail to follow the normal post-operative course after gastrectomy, clinicians should be alert to the possibility of post-gastrectomy acute pancreatitis as one of the potential diagnoses.

Gastrectomy is commonly performed for both benign and malignant lesions. Although the incidence of post-gastrectomy acute pancreatitis (PGAP) is low compared to other well-recognized post-operative complications, it has been reported to be associated with a high mortality rate.

A clinical research team from Taiwan reported a case of asymptomatic pancreatic divisum who underwent palliative subtotal gastrectomy for an advanced gastric cancer with liver metastasis. Their study will be published on September 28, 2009 in the World Journal of Gastroenterology.

Their research illustrated early detection and aggressive treatment of PGAP for patients with pancreas divisum or dominant duct of Santorini who fail to follow the normal post-operative course after gastrectomy might improve the prognosis.

More information: Kuo IM, Wang F, Liu KH, Jan YY. Post-gastrectomy acute pancreatitis in a patient with gastric carcinoma and pancreas divisum. World J Gastroenterol 2009; 15(36): 4596-4600, http://www.wjgnet.com/1007-9327/15/4596.asp

Source: World Journal of Gastroenterology (news : web)