[Thoracoscopic splanchnicectomy--a method of pain palliation in non-resectable pancreatic cancer and chronic pancreatitis].
Severe upper abdominal pain is a dominant and distressing feature in advanced pancreatic cancer and in chronic pancreatitis. A way of palliation needs to be practiced in the non-resectable pancreatic cancer in order to control the pain. Between the many methods of palliation the thoracoscopic splanchnicectomy seems to be the best due its simplicity, no risk to the patient and the good results. In the Center of General Surgery and Liver Transplantation from Fundeni Clinical Institute we have practiced 50 thoracoscopic splanchnicectomies in a number of 49 patients during a period of 3 years. The morbidity was 2% and the mortality 0. We noticed a significant improvement in the pain score, the quality of sleep and the overall quality of life and consecutively a quick social reintegration of these patients. The quality of life is greatly improved (with a significant reduction of the pain score in 92% of the cases) after this minimally invasive procedure, a fact the qualifies this procedure as the technique of choice in these patients.
Centrul de Chirurgie Generală şi Transplant Hepatic, Institutul Clinic Fundeni, Bucureşti. victor.tomulescu@icfundeni.ro
V
V
Tomulescu
M
M
Grigoroiu
C
C
Stănescu
A
A
Kosa
G
G
Merlusca
C
C
Vasilescu
M
M
Ionescu
I
I
Popescu
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010147:Pain Measurement; D010148:Intractable Pain / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery*; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000379:methods; D010179:Pancreas / Q000294:innervation; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000145:classification / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D010195:Pancreatitis / Q000150:complications*; D011788:Quality of Life; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013153:Splanchnic Nerves / Q000601:surgery*; D013906:Thoracoscopy / Q000379:methods*