The objective with regard to treatment of chronic pancreatitis in the end stage of chronic pancreatitis is to make life livable again.
The chronic pain can be so disabling that the highest objective might be to find a way to minimize the suffering. The gastroenterologist will want to consult closely with a general surgeon to look at the tests including CT scans to plan what, if any procedure should be done for that particular patient. The benefit of any procedure has to be balanced against the risk of this surgery. However, some procedures can give 60 to 80% relief and it is important not to discount that possibility.
Steatorrhea can be improved with 4-6 tablets of pancreatic enzymes with every meal. Each capsule contains 5,000 Units of lipase, the fat digesting enzyme. The slow release preparations are not as good as the patient needs peak levels right with the meal. The results of improvement are immediately visible with regard to the digestion of food and normalized bowel movements. Occasionally H2-blockers also have to be given to reduce the feedback mechanism between stomach and pancreas, but this is different from case to case and would depend on the doctor’s recommendation.
Sometimes in a case where chronic pancreatitis has become intractable a Whipple procedure that has been originally developed for pancreatic cancer may have to be done for a selected patient with chronic pancreatitis.
Treatment Of Chronic Pancreatitis (For Intractable Case)
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