Symposium on pancreatitis: 4. Surgery in chronic pancreatitis.

When the pain associated with chronic pancreatitis is due to ductal obstruction, it is logical that surgical management should be designed to relieve that obstruction while preserving as much of the functioning gland as possible. A number of cases are described to illustrate the various procedures available and to indicate the features that govern the selection of the one most appropriate for a particular patient. The operations include partial pancreatectomy, Roux-en-Y pancreaticojejunostomy and longitudinal pancreaticojejunostomy; these can be modified to suit the peculiar circumstances of a given case.