Duodenum-preserving pancreatic head resection leads to relief of common bile duct stenosis.

Background: Common bile duct stenosis (CBDS) is one of the most frequent complications in chronic pancreatitis with inflammatory mass in the head of the pancreas (IMH).

Methods: A total of 474 patients who underwent duodenum-preserving pancreatic head resection (DPPHR) between 1982 and 1998 were reevaluated; 219 patients (46%) with a mean duration of the disease of 45 months had a radiologically proven CBDS.

Results: One patient (0.5%) died of septic complications in the early postoperative course, 15 patients (6.8%) had to be reoperated on for complications. A follow-up investigation of 143 patients (92%) revealed a late mortality of 12%; no patient died of biliary complications. Seventy-five percent of the patients were completely free of pain, and 85% of the patients had a constant or even increasing body weight.

Conclusions: The high percentage of pain-free patients with improved physical status and economical rehabilitation demonstrates the improvement of the quality of life after DPPHR for complicated chronic pancreatitis.