Transduodenal Sphincterotomy for Chronic Relapsing Pancreatitis

Abstract

IT is now generally accepted that there are two types of acute pancreatitis: acute pancreatic edema, and acute pancreatic necrosis. Repeated attacks of acute pancreatitis are classified as chronic relapsing pancreatitis that may progress, in rare cases, to pancreatic cysts, fibrosis, lithiasis or calcification. It is possible that all these conditions represent different stages of the same pathologic process.The purpose of this paper is to present observations based on 23 cases of relapsing pancreatitis.Acute pancreatic necrosis is relatively unusual. Acute pancreatic edema, on the contrary, is a common disease. Since Elman,¹ in 1935, called attention to it as . . .