title: Our approach to the surgical treatment of chronic pancreatitis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Optimal surgical management of the patients suffering of chronic pancreatitis still remains a controversial problem. The base for the evaluation of patients is for us the Marseille-Roma classification from 1988 with 4 fundamental types of the disease. Surgical therapy is usually indicated in patients with intractable or continuous pain, stenosis of the common bile duct and duodenal stenosis. The source of the above mentioned problems is related to the head of the pancreas and we prefer as the procedure of choice duodenum sparing resection of the pancreatic head.
  
  
  METHODS
  Seventy patients were treated by our team in the years from 1985 to 1995 surgically and 55 of these patients underwent resection of the head of the pancreas.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Eighteen patients were treated by hemipancreatoduodenectomy and 37 patients by the duodenum sparing resection of the pancreatic head.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Left sided resection and drainage procedures appear to be much less effective from the point of view of long term follow-up.
authors.affiliation: Surgical Dept. University Hospital, Brno-Bohunice.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ruzicka
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dite
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Kala
mesh_terms: D002908:Chronic Disease; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D010179:Pancreas / Q000601:surgery; D016577:Pancreaticoduodenectomy; D010195:Pancreatitis / Q000601:surgery*; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome