Diagnosis of chronic pancreatitis and newer aspects of pain control

The diagnosis of chronic pancreatitis in the UK largely rests on the combination of the clinical presentation which usually features pain which is often provoked by food and/ or alcohol. There is usually a 30 to 40-min delay between the stimulus and the pain and, after exclusion of other causes of pain, an ERCP is performed. A minority of patients will have pancreatic function tests carried out while increasingly the diagnosis is being made by MR scanning. The control of pain is often the most important aspect of management to the patient. In those with large ducts due to compression of focal areas of the duct system surgical by-pass therapy is indicated. There is a bigger problem in patients with small ducts and chronic pancreatitis in whom extensive resection may be inappropriate. Our experience with minimally invasive thoracoscopic splanchnicectomy has been encouraging over the last three years. Having previously tried both percutaneous coeliac ganglion block and surgical excision of this nerve tissue, it is a great deal easier to carry out this procedure which usually takes only 15-20 min per side. Patients are usually only admitted for 48 h and the immediate beneficial effect usually results in opiate analgesia being discontinued with considerable improvement in the quality of life. While there is a slight drop-off in benefit between 6 and 12 months post-operatively, the clinical effectiveness of this approach is to be commended and the author's experience will be presented to support this view.