Operative management of necrotizing pancreatitis--necrosectomy and continuous closed postoperative lavage of the lesser sac.

In patients with severe acute pancreatitis, the most important diagnostic goal is differentiation between the interstitial-edematous and the necrotizing type of acute pancreatitis. Surgical management in patients with proven necrotizing pancreatitis is indicated in patients who develop surgical acute abdomen, sepsis, shock syndrome, multisystemic organ failure syndrome, persistent or progressive despite maximum intensive care. The most appropriate procedure for surgical management of pancreatic necrosis is the careful removal of necrosis and preservation of vital pancreatic tissue. Necrosectomy supplemented by postoperative closed continuous lavage of the lesser sac is a procedure that offers the advantages of debridement of devitalized tissue only, and the non-surgical removal of necrotic tissue and bacterially and biologically active compounds. In comparison with a reoperation protocol, necrosectomy and continuous lavage reduce the reoperation rate as well as the need for tracheostomy. In a prospectively treated series of patients suffering from necrotizing pancreatitis, hospital mortality was 8.4% and the reoperation rate 27%. Any tissue becoming necrotic in the postoperative course of disease is rinsed with lavage fluid, thus obviating the need for repeated surgical reoperation in most patients. Local lavage is achieved by the insertion of two, in some cases five, large double-lumen tubus and the use of 8 liters (median) of lavage fluid per day.