ENDOSCOPIC TREATMENT AND EXTRACORPOREAL SHOCK-WAVE LITHOTRIPSY IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC-PANCREATITIS - RESULTS OF PRELIMINARY EXPERIENCE IN 16 PATIENTS

A new therapeutic approach has been recently proposed in the management of chronic pancreatitis, including pancreatic endoscopic papillotomy and extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy. The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility and the short - and long-term results of these procedures in a series of 16 patients aged 48.9 +/- 14 years. The indication for endoscopic treatment was pain in 15 cases and steatorrhea in one case. Pancreatic duct abnormalities included main pancreatic duct stenosis with calculi (9 cases), communicating pseudocysts upstream to a ductal stenosis or obstruction by calculi (4 cases), and isolated calculi (4 cases). Clinical response and morphologic parameters were used for analysis. Mean follow-up was 18.6 months (3.5 months to 7 years). Results : a) pancreatic endoscopic papillotomy, stents placement, and extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy were sucessfully performed in 15 out of 16 cases, 1 out of 4 cases and 8 out of 8 cases, respectively; b) symptomatic improvement was observed in 11 of 15 patients with painful pancreatitis as relief was complete in 8, and partial in 3 cases. Pain relapse occurred in these latter 3 patients 4, 18 and 48 months after treatment; diabetes mellitus remained unchanged in all cases; c) diameter of the main pancreatic duct and pancreatic calcifications decreased in 8 of 15 cases and in 10 of 15 cases, respectively; pseudocyst disappeared in 2 of 4 cases; clinical improvement was significantly correlated with pancreatic morphology improvement. Clinical relapse was associated with calculi recurrence in every case. No complication was observed. Endoscopic papillotomy and extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy are feasible in most cases of chronic pancreatitis. Relief of pain is obtained rapidly after treatment and seems to be correlated with the quality of pancreatic drainage.