Surgery for chronic pancreatitis in Finland is rare but seems to produce good long-term results

BACKGROUND Abdominal pain in chronic pancreatitis (CP) may require invasive interventions.Surgical procedures are rare, and little is known about the long-term results.AIMTo study the nationwide frequency of pancreatic surgery for CP in Finland, andpostoperative symptoms and quality of life (QoL).METHODSAll patients in Finland with a diagnosis of CP who had undergone pancreaticsurgery during 2000-2008 were selected from a national register. Only patientswith CP as an indication for pancreatic surgery were included. Medical recordswere studied and questionnaires QLQ-C30, PAN26 and AUDIT, and symptomquestionnaires were sent out.RESULTSDuring the 9-year period, pancreatic surgery for CP was performed on 30 patients[77% men, median age 45 (21-62) years]. Eighty-three percent underwentendoscopic procedures before surgery. Surgery was performed a median 2 (0-10)years after the original CP diagnosis, and 17% developed postoperative complications. Primary pain relief after surgery was reported in 70% of cases. Need forstrong pain medication was lower after surgery. Eight of 21 (38%) returned thequestionnaires and 88% reported that surgery had reduced their pain and 63%were almost or entirely pain-free at a median 14 (10-18) years after surgery. QoLresults did not differ from those in our control Finnish CP group.CONCLUSIONSurgery for CP is rare in Finland and most patients had prior endoscopicprocedures. Patients who returned the questionnaires reported less pain and goodQoL during the 14-year follow-up.