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The production of pancreatic enzymes is suppressed by restricting the patient's oral intake of food patient in conjunction with the use of long-acting somatostatin analogues. The patient's nutrition is maintained by total parenteral nutrition.
This treatment is continued for 2–3 weeks, and the patient is observed for improvement. If no improvement is seen, the patient may receive endoscopic or surgical treatment. If surgical treatment is followed, an ERCP is needed to identify the site of the leak.
Fistulectomy is done in which the involved part of the pancreas is also removed.
Pancreatic pseudocyst treatment should be aimed at avoiding any complication (1 in 10 cases become infected). They also tend to rupture, and have shown that larger cysts have a higher likelihood to become more symptomatic, even needing surgery. If no signs of infection are present, initial treatment can include conservative measures such as bowel rest (NPO), parenteral nutrition (TPN), and observation. Serum amylase levels can be trended. If symptoms do not improve by 6 weeks, surgical intervention may be appropriate.
In the event of surgery:
- Cystogastrostomy: In this surgical procedure a connection is created between the back wall of the stomach and the cyst such that the cyst drains into the stomach.
- Cystjejunostomy: In this procedure a connection is created between the cyst and the small intestine so that the cyst fluid directly into the small intestine.
- Cystduodenostomy: In this procedure a connection is created between the duodenum (the first part of the intestine) and the cyst to allow drainage of the cyst content into duodenum. The type of surgical procedure depends on the location of the cyst. For pseudocysts that occur in the head of the pancreas a cystduodenostomy is usually performed.
Treatment of hemosuccus pancreaticus depends on the source of the hemorrhage. If the bleeding is identified on angiography to be coming from a vessel that is small enough to occlude, embolization through angiography may stop the bleeding. Both coils in the end-artery and stents across the area of bleeding have been used to control the hemorrhage. However, the bleeding may be refractory to the embolization, which would necessitate surgery to remove the pancreas at the source of hemorrhage. Also, the cause of bleeding may be too diffuse to be treated with embolization (such as with pancreatitis or with pancreatic cancer). This may also require surgical therapy, and usually a distal pancreatectomy, or removal of the part of the pancreas from the area of bleeding to the tail, is required.
Treatment usually is bypassing the obstructed segment of duodenum by duodeno-jejunostomy. Another approach is laparoscopic gastrojejunostomy or duodenojejunostomy.
Simple cholecystectomy is suitable for type I patients. For types II–IV, subtotal cholecystectomy can be performed to avoid damage to the main bile ducts. Cholecystectomy and bilioenteric anastomosis may be required. Roux-en-Y hepaticojejunostomy has shown good outcome in some studies.
Treatment of accessory pancreas depends on the location and extent of the injured tissue. Surgery may be an option, or some physicians order prophylactic antibiotics.
Abdominal pain is often the predominant symptom in patients with acute pancreatitis and should be treated with analgesics.
Opioids are safe and effective at providing pain control in patients with acute pancreatitis. Adequate pain control requires the use of intravenous opiates, usually in the form of a patient-controlled analgesia pump. Hydromorphone or fentanyl (intravenous) may be used for pain relief in acute pancreatitis. Fentanyl is being increasingly used due to its better safety profile, especially in renal impairment. As with other opiates, fentanyl can depress respiratory function. It can be given both as a bolus as well as constant infusion.
Meperidine has been historically favored over morphine because of the belief that morphine caused an increase in sphincter of Oddi pressure. However, no clinical studies suggest that morphine can aggravate or cause pancreatitis or cholecystitis. In addition, meperidine has a short half-life and repeated doses can lead to accumulation of the metabolite normeperidine, which causes neuromuscular side effects and, rarely, seizures.
In the management of acute pancreatitis, the treatment is to stop feeding the patient, giving them nothing by mouth, giving intravenous fluids to prevent dehydration, and sufficient pain control. As the pancreas is stimulated to secrete enzymes by the presence of food in the stomach, having no food pass through the system allows the pancreas to rest. Approximately 20% of patients have a relapse of pain during acute pancreatitis. Approximately 75% of relapses occur within 48 hours of oral refeeding.
The incidence of relapse after oral refeeding may be reduced by post-pyloric enteral rather than parenteral feeding prior to oral refeeding. IMRIE scoring is also useful.
The different treatment options for management of chronic pancreatitis are medical measures, therapeutic endoscopy and surgery. Treatment is directed, when possible, to the underlying cause, and to relieve pain and malabsorption. Insulin dependent diabetes mellitus may occur and need long term insulin therapy. The abdominal pain can be very severe and require high doses of analgesics, sometimes including opiates. Alcohol cessation and dietary modifications (low-fat diet) are important to manage pain and slow the calcific process. Antioxidants may help but it is unclear if the benefits are meaningful.
A low fat diet is indicated. The use of drugs which are known to have an association with pancreatitis should be avoided. Some patients benefit from the use of pancreatic enzymes on a supplemental basis. One study indicated that 57 percent of dogs, who were followed for six months after an acute pancreatitis attack, either continued to exhibit inflammation of the organ or had decreased acinar cell function, even though they had no pancreatitis symptoms.
Medication (to prevent spasms) or Sphincterotomy (surgical procedure to cut the muscle) are the standard treatments for sphincter of Oddi dysfunction. One or the other may be better based on the classification of the condition.
Pancreatic enzyme replacement is often effective in treating the malabsorption and steatorrhea associated with chronic pancreatitis. Treatment of CP consists of administration of a solution of pancreatic enzymes with meals. Some patients do have pain reduction with enzyme replacement and since they are relatively safe, giving enzyme replacement to a chronic pancreatitis patient is an acceptable step in treatment for most patients. Treatment may be more likely to be successful in those without involvement of large ducts and those with idiopathic pancreatitis.
There are no approved treatments for canine pancreatitis. Treatment for this disease is supportive, and may require hospitialization to attend to the dog's nutritional and fluid needs, pain management, and addressing any other disease processes (infection, diabetes, etc.) while letting the pancreas heal on its own. Treatment often involves "resting" the pancreas for a short period of time by nil per os/nothing per os (NPO)/nil by mouth (NBM), in which the patient receives no food or fluids by mouth, but is fed and hydrated by intravenous fluids and a feeding tube. Dehydration is also managed by the use of fluid therapy. However, a specialist from Texas A&M University has stated "There is no evidence whatsoever that withholding food has any beneficial effect." Other specialists have agreed with his opinion.
Canine pancreatitis is complex, often limiting the ability to approach the disease.
Treatment for fistula varies depending on the cause and extent of the fistula, but often involves surgical intervention combined with antibiotic therapy.
Typically the first step in treating a fistula is an examination by a doctor to determine the extent and "path" that the fistula takes through the tissue.
In some cases the fistula is temporarily covered, for example a fistula caused by cleft palate is often treated with a palatal obturator to delay the need for surgery to a more appropriate age.
Surgery is often required to assure adequate drainage of the fistula (so that pus may escape without forming an abscess). Various surgical procedures are commonly used, most commonly fistulotomy, placement of a seton (a cord that is passed through the path of the fistula to keep it open for draining), or an endorectal flap procedure (where healthy tissue is pulled over the internal side of the fistula to keep feces or other material from reinfecting the channel). Treatment involves filling the fistula with fibrin glue; also plugging it with plugs made of porcine small intestine submucosa have also been explored in recent years, with variable success. Surgery for anorectal fistulae is not without side effects, including recurrence, reinfection, and incontinence. High rate of recurrence and more chances of complications like incontinence are always there in fistula surgeries (Anal Fistula).
It is important to note that surgical treatment of a fistula without diagnosis or management of the underlying condition, if any, is not recommended. For example, surgical treatment of fistulae in Crohn's disease can be effective, but if the Crohn's disease itself is not treated, the rate of recurrence of fistula is very high (well above 50%).
Antibiotics are commonly used as a curing method for pancreatic abscesses although their role remains controversial. Prophylactic antibiotics are normally chosen based on the type of flora and the degree of antibiotic penetration into the abscess. Pancreatic abscesses are more likely to host enteric organisms and pathogens such as "E. coli", "Klebsiella pneumonia", "Enterococcus faecalis", "Staphylococcus aureus", "Pseudomonas aeruginosa", "Proteus mirabilis", and "Streptococcus" species. Medical therapy is usually given to people whose general health status does not allow surgery. On the other hand, antibiotics are not recommended in patients with pancreatitis, unless the presence of an infected abscess has been proved.
Although there have been reported cases of patients who were given medical treatment and survived, primary drainage of the abscess is the main treatment used to cure this condition. Drainage usually involves a surgical procedure. It has been shown that CT-guided drainage brought inferior results than open drainage. Hence, open surgical procedure is preferred to successfully remove the abscess. However, CT-guided drainage is the option treatment for patients who may not tolerate an open procedure. Endoscopic treatment is at the same time a treatment option that increased in popularity over the last years.
The treatment of pancreatitis is supportive and depends on severity. Morphine generally is suitable for pain control. There are no clinical studies to suggest that morphine can aggravate or cause pancreatitis or cholecystitis.
The treatment that is received for acute pancreatitis will depend on whether the diagnosis is for the mild form of the condition, which causes no complications, or the severe form, which can cause serious complications.
The treatment of mild acute pancreatitis is successfully carried out by admission to a general hospital ward. Traditionally, people were not allowed to eat until the inflammation resolved but more recent evidence suggests early feeding is safe and improves outcomes. Because pancreatitis can cause lung damage and affect normal lung function, oxygen is occasionally delivered through breathing tubes that are connected via the nose. The tubes can then be removed after a few days once it is clear that the condition is improving. Dehydration may result during an episode of acute pancreatitis, so fluids will be provided intravenously. Opioids may be used for the pain. Early feeding does not appear to cause problems and may result in an ability to leave hospital sooner.
When there is no pancreatic duct injury, typically hemostasis and surgical drainage are the main form of treatment. Surgical repair is undertaken when there is evidence or suspicion of ductal injury. The type of surgery depends on the degree of the injury and its proximity to the mesenteric blood vessels that serve the pancreas. When injuries are not close to the mesenteric vessels, a distal pancreatectomy may be done; this procedure preserves much of the pancreas and usually avoids loss of its endocrine and exocrine functions. In severe cases of pancreaticoduodenal injury, a pancreaticoduodenectomy can be used. Common complications after surgery include pancreatitis, pancreatic fistula, abscess, and pseudocyst formation. Initial management of hemorrhage includes controlling it by packing the wound.
Patients with enteric content exiting a wound on their abdomen are motivated to undergo operation. The majority will close spontaneously within approximately 6 weeks. If it has not closed by 12 weeks, it is unlikely to do so and definitive surgery should be planned. The median time to definitive repair from fistula onset was 6 months (range 1 day to 28 months). The 6-month time course is commonly utilized by groups with significant experience treating fistulas, owing to the trend in encountering a less hostile abdomen than in the early phases. Some evidence also suggests that somatostatin can be an effective treatment with respect to reducing closure time and improving the spontaneous closure rate of enterocutaneous fistulas.
Pancreas divisum in individuals with no symptoms does not require treatment. Treatment of those with symptoms varies and has not been well established. A surgeon may attempt a sphincterotomy by cutting the minor papilla to enlarge the opening and allow pancreatic enzymes to flow normally. During surgery, a stent may be inserted into the duct to ensure that the duct will not close causing a blockage. This surgery can cause pancreatitis in patients, or in rare cases, kidney failure and death.
An association with adenoma of the minor papilla has been reported.
The outlook is generally based on the severity of the infection. It is however a severe complication which may result in the death of the patient if the appropriate treatment is not administered. Patients are at risk of sepsis and multiple organ failure and in cases in which the infected abscess is not removed through surgery, the mortality rate can reach 100%.
AIP often completely resolves with steroid treatment. The failure to differentiate AIP from malignancy may lead to unnecessary pancreatic resection, and the characteristic lymphoplasmacytic infiltrate of AIP has been found in up to 23% of patients undergoing pancreatic resection for suspected malignancy who are ultimately found to have benign disease. In this subset of patients, a trial of steroid therapy may have prevented a Whipple procedure or complete pancreatectomy for a benign disease which responds well to medical therapy. "This benign disease resembles pancreatic carcinoma both clinically and radiographically. The diagnosis of autoimmune pancreatitis is challenging to make. However, accurate and timely diagnosis may preempt the misdiagnosis of cancer and decrease the number of unnecessary pancreatic resections." Autoimmune pancreatitis responds dramatically to corticosteroid treatment.
If relapse occurs after corticosteroid treatment or corticosteroid treatment is not tolerated, immunomodulators may be used. Immunomodulators such as azathioprine, and 6-mercaptopurine have been shown to extend remission of autoimmune pancreatitis after corticosteroid treatment. If corticosteroid and immunomodulator treatments are not sufficient, rituximab may also be used. Rituximab has been shown to induce and maintain remission.
A pancreatic fistula is an abnormal communication between the pancreas and other organs due to leakage of pancreatic secretions from damaged pancreatic ducts. An "external" pancreatic fistula is one that communicates with the skin, and is also known as a pancreaticocutaneous fistula, whereas an internal pancreatic fistula communicates with other internal organs or spaces. Pancreatic fistulas can be caused by pancreatic disease, trauma, or surgery.
There are several stages to treating an anal fistula:
Definitive treatment of a fistula aims to stop it recurring. Treatment depends on where the fistula lies, and which parts of the internal and external anal sphincters it crosses.
There are several options:
- Doing nothing — a drainage seton can be left in place long-term to prevent problems. This is the safest option although it does not definitively cure the fistula.
- Lay-open of fistula-in-ano — this option involves an operation to cut the fistula open. Once the fistula has been laid open it will be packed on a daily basis for a short period of time to ensure that the wound heals from the inside out. This option leaves behind a scar, and depending on the position of the fistula in relation to the sphincter muscle, can cause problems with incontinence. This option is not suitable for fistulae that cross the entire internal and external anal sphincter.
- Cutting seton — if the fistula is in a high position and it passes through a significant portion of the sphincter muscle, a cutting seton (from the Latin "seta", "bristle") may be used. This involves inserting a thin tube through the fistula tract and tying the ends together outside of the body. The seton is tightened over time, gradually cutting through the sphincter muscle and healing as it goes. This option minimizes scarring but can cause incontinence in a small number of cases, mainly of flatus. Once the fistula tract is in a low enough position it may be laid open to speed up the process, or the seton can remain in place until the fistula is completely cured. This was the traditional modality used by physicians in Ancient Egypt and formally codified by Hippocrates, who used horsehair and linen.
- Seton stitch — a length of suture material looped through the fistula which keeps it open and allows pus to drain out. In this situation, the seton is referred to as a draining seton. The stitch is placed close to the ano-rectal ring – which encourages healing and makes further surgery easy.
- Fistulotomy — till anorectal ring
- Colostomy — to allow healing
- Fibrin glue injection is a method explored in recent years, with variable success. It involves injecting the fistula with a biodegradable glue which should, in theory, close the fistula from the inside out, and let it heal naturally. This method is perhaps best tried before all others since, if successful, it avoids the risk of incontinence, and creates minimal stress for the patient.
- Fistula plug involves plugging the fistula with a device made from small intestinal submucosa. The fistula plug is positioned from the inside of the anus with suture. According to some sources, the success rate with this method is as high as 80%. As opposed to the staged operations, which may require multiple hospitalizations, the fistula plug procedure requires hospitalization for only about 24 hours. Currently, there are two different anal fistula plugs cleared by the FDA for treating ano-rectal fistulae in the United States. This treatment option does not carry any risk of bowel incontinence. In the systematic review published by Dr Pankaj Garg, the success rate of the fistula plug is 65-75%.
- Endorectal advancement flap is a procedure in which the internal opening of the fistula is identified and a flap of mucosal tissue is cut around the opening. The flap is lifted to expose the fistula, which is then cleaned and the internal opening is sewn shut. After cutting the end of the flap on which the internal opening was, the flap is pulled down over the sewn internal opening and sutured in place. The external opening is cleaned and sutured. Success rates are variable and high recurrence rates are directly related to previous attempts to correct the fistula.
- LIFT Technique is a novel modified approach through the intersphincteric plane for the treatment of fistula-in-ano, known as LIFT (ligation of intersphincteric fistula tract) procedure. LIFT procedure is based on secure closure of the internal opening and removal of infected cryptoglandular tissue through the intersphincteric approach. Essential steps of the procedure include, incision at the intersphincteric groove, identification of the intersphincteric tract, ligation of intersphincteric tract close to the internal opening and removal of intersphincteric tract, scraping out all granulation tissue in the rest of the fistulous tract, and suturing of the defect at the external sphincter muscle. The procedure was developed by Thai colorectal surgeon, Arun Rojanasakul, The first reports of preliminary healing result from the procedure were 94% in 2007. Additional ligation of the intersphincteric fistula tract did not improve the outcome after endorectal advancement flap.
- Fistula clip closure (OTSC Proctology) is the latest surgical development, which involves the closure of the internal fistula opening with a superelastic clip made of nitinol (OTSC). During surgery, the fistula tract is debrided with a special fistula brush and the clip is transanally applied with the aid of a preloaded clip applicator. The surgical principle of this technique relies on the dynamic compression and permanent closure of the internal fistula opening by the superelastic clip. Consequently, the fistula tract dries out and heals instead of being kept open by continuous feeding with stool and fecal organisms. This minimally-invasive sphincter-preserving technique has been developed and clinically implemented by the German surgeon Ruediger Prosst. First clinical data of the clip closure technique demonstrate a success rate of 90% for previously untreated fistulae and a success rate of 70% for recurrent fistulae.
- PERFACT Procedure is another latest addition to the armamentarium to treat complex and highly complex fistula-in-ano. It is a minimally cutting procedure as both the anal sphincters (internal and external sphincters) are not cut/damaged at all. Therefore, the risk of incontinence is minimal. PERFACT procedure (proximal superficial cauterization, emptying regularly fistula tracts and curettage of tracts) entails two steps: superficial cauterization of mucosa at and around the internal opening and keeping all the tracts clean. The principle is to permanently close the internal opening by granulation tissue. This is achieved by superficial electrocauterization at and around the internal opening and subsequently allowing the wound to heal by secondary intention. Early results of this procedure are quite encouraging for complex fistula-in-ano (86.4% in highly complex anal fistulae). The procedure is effective even in fistula associated with abscess, supralevator fistula-in-ano and fistula where the internal opening is non-localizable.
Treatment is surgical, potentially with a laparoscopic resection. In patients with bleeding, strangulation of bowel, bowel perforation or bowel obstruction, treatment involves surgical resection of both the Meckel's diverticulum itself along with the adjacent bowel segment, and this procedure is called a "small bowel resection". In patients without any of the aforementioned complications, treatment involves surgical resection of the Meckel's diverticulum only, and this procedure is called a simple diverticulectomy.
With regards to asymptomatic Meckel's diverticulum, some recommend that a search for Meckel's diverticulum should be conducted in every case of appendectomy/laparotomy done for acute abdomen, and if found, Meckel's diverticulectomy or resection should be performed to avoid secondary complications arising from it.