The Surgical clinics of North America
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Surg. Clin. North Am. · Dec 2007
ReviewThe role of total pancreatectomy and islet autotransplantation for chronic pancreatitis.
Total pancreatectomy and islet autotransplantation are done for chronic pancreatitis with intractable pain when other treatment measures have failed, allowing insulin secretory capacity to be preserved, minimizing or preventing diabetes, while at the same time removing the root cause of the pain. Since the first case in 1977, several series have been published. ⋯ Islet autotransplantation has been done with partial or total pancreatectomy for benign and premalignant conditions. Islet autotransplantation should be used more widely to preserve beta cell mass in major pancreatic resections.