Fulminant Emphysematous Pancreatitis: Diagnosis Time Counts.

Emphysematous pancreatitis (EP), a severe form of necrotizing infection of the pancreas, is an extremely rare medical emergency with high rates of mortality. It is characterized by intraparenchymal pancreatic or peri-pancreatic air due to either monomicrobial or polymicrobial infection with gas-forming bacteria or due to entero-pancreatic fistula. EP is classified according to timing from disease onset when air bubble signs were detected on computed tomography (CT) scan, as early onset (within 2 weeks from disease onset) or late (more than 2 weeks from disease onset). While most cases of acute pancreatitis are resolved with supportive care alone, clinical outcomes of EP, especially the early onset subtype, are very poor with high rates of morbidity and mortality. These two case reports present the clinical features, diagnostic investigations, and management of two patients admitted to our hospital with early onset fulminant EP, each investigated and managed with different approaches. The first patient underwent a more conservative treatment, with diagnosis being made 52 h following admission, and thus, intensive care unit (ICU) admission and surgery were postponed, while the second patient was diagnosed a few hours following presentation with earlier ICU admission. In this article, we will present the critical importance of early diagnosis of the aforementioned rare entity of severe pancreatitis and will consider the consequences of rapid diagnosis on disease course, morbidity and mortality.

Intractable Postoperative Pancreatic Fistula: Undefined Type of Pancreatic Fistula Managed by Puestow-Like Procedure.

Pancreatoduodenectomy (PD) is a very complex and highly challenging operation for surgeons worldwide. It is the surgical procedure of choice for the management of benign and malignant diseases of the periampullary region. Although mortality rate following this complicated surgery has fallen to 1-3%, morbidity rate following PD remains high, with almost 30-40% of patients developing at least one complication. Postoperative pancreatic fistula (POPF) is one of the most common complications following PD. Therefore, Pancreatico-enteric anastomosis has been regarded as the "Achilles heel" of the modern, one-stage PD procedure. According to the International Study Group of Pancreatic Surgery (ISGPS), three types of POPF are recognized nowadays: biochemical leak, previously known as grade A POPF, grade B and grade C, with the latter being the most dangerous. Most POPFs, especially of the biochemical leak and grade B heal with non-operative management to recur later and present as an intra-abdominal abscess or pseudocyst, necessitating management by means of interventional radiology, endoscopy or surgery. These types of fistulas are undefined and occasionally intractable. Herein, we present two patients who presented with the aforementioned type of pancreatic fistula following duct occlusion PD. The first patient, a 53-year-old female patient, suffered from intolerance to oral feeding, severe weight loss and recurrent hospital admission, while the second patient, a 72-year-old patient, suffered from recurrent bouts of abdominal sepsis. Their management involved step-up approach, starting with non-operative management, followed by percutaneous drainage and operative treatment in the form of Puestow-like procedure (longitudinal pancreatojejunostomy), as a recourse due to the inadequacy of preceding therapeutic modalities.