Pseudocysts in chronic pancreatitis. Surgical results in 102 consecutive patients.

Preoperative symptoms, diagnoses, and postoperative outcomes in 102 consecutive patients with pancreatic pseudocysts were analyzed. Upper epigastric pain, loss of weight, obstructive jaundice, and sudden arterial bleeding from the pseudocyst were the most common preoperative symptoms. Ultrasonography, computed tomography, and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography were the most useful diagnostic tools in the evaluation of the presence, size, location, and possible pancreatic ductal communications of the pseudocyst. In a single thick-walled pseudocyst, the best long-term results were achieved by internal drainage. Pancreatic resection is justified if the patient already has diabetes or multiple pseudocysts or if the pseudocyst is not amenable to internal drainage. The most fatal preoperative complication was a sudden arterial bleeding from a pseudocyst. In treating this complication, hemostasis with transcystic arterial ligation and external drainage of the pseudocyst gave the best results.