Surgery for chronic pancreatitis: the comparison of two high-volume centers reveals lack of a uniform operative management

Purpose: Many aspects of surgical therapy for chronic pancreatitis (CP), including the correct indication and timing, as well as the most appropriate operative techniques, are still a matter of debate in the surgical community and vary widely across different centers. The aim of the present study was to uncover and analyze these differences by comparing the experiences of two specialized surgical units in Italy and Austria.

Methods: All patients operated for CP between 2000 and 2018 at the two centers involved were included in this retrospective analysis. Data regarding the clinical history and the pre- and perioperative surgical course were analyzed and compared between the two institutions.

Results: Our analysis showed a progressive decrease in the annual rate of pancreatic surgical procedures performed for CP in Verona (no. = 91) over the last two decades (from 3% to less than 1%); by contrast, this percentage increased from 3 to 9% in Vienna (no. = 77) during the same time frame. Considerable differences were also detected with regard to the timing of surgery from the first diagnosis of CP - 4 years (IQR 5.5) in the Austrian series vs two (IQR 4.0) in the Italian series -, and of indications for surgery, with a 12% higher prevalence of groove pancreatitis among patients in the Verona cohort.

Conclusion: The comparison of the surgical attitude towards CP between two surgical centers proved that a consistent approach to this pathology still is lacking. The identification of common guidelines and labels of surgical eligibility is advisable in order to avoid interinstitutional treatment disparities.