Severe acute pancreatitis: surgical management in a third-level hospital.

Background: Severe acute pancreatitis has a reported mortality of 10-30% in specialized hospitals, representing 20% of patients diagnosed with acute pancreatitis. Indications for surgery are infected necrosis, necrosis persistent, fulminant pancreatitis or acute pancreatitis complications such as bleeding or intestinal perforation.

Methods: We studied patients diagnosed with pancreatitis from January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2007.