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FATAL POST‐OPERATIVE PANCREATITIS
Author(s) -
Hughes E. S. R.,
Kune G. A.
Publication year - 1960
Publication title -
australian and new zealand journal of surgery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.111
H-Index - 51
eISSN - 1445-2197
pISSN - 0004-8682
DOI - 10.1111/j.1445-2197.1960.tb03857.x
Subject(s) - medicine , pancreatitis , complication , pancreas , autopsy , surgery , abdominal pain , acute pancreatitis , biliary tract , pancreatic duct , common bile duct , general surgery
Summary1 Three cases of fatal post‐operative pancreatitis are presented. 2 In each case the preceding operation was conducted on the biliary tract. In one the operation was confined to removal of the gall‐bladder but in the other two the common bile duct was explored. 3 The complication appeared within four days of the operation. 4 The pancreas, at autopsy, showed oedema and fat necrosis but minimal haemorrhage. 5 Circulatory collapse and upper abdominal pain were the initial symptoms in two patients; in the third, the onset was less acute. 6 A second exploratory operation was not well tolerated in the two patients in whom it was conducted. 7 The complication might be prevented by the surgeon handling the pancreas with great care, by his avoiding unnecessary explorations of the common duct, and by his exercise of extreme care when performing pancreatic biopsy.