Chronic pancreatitis

Professor John Windsor talks about chronic pancreatitis. John is a trained general surgeon who has had further fellowship training in hepato-biliary and pancreatic, gastro-oesophageal and laparoscopic surgery. He works at Auckland City Hospital and the University of Auckland. Privately he works at Mercy Hospital in Auckland and specialises in pancreatic, bilary, gastric and oesophageal surgery.

Topics

What is chronic pancreatitis and who gets it?
What do we need to think about from their history?
How is the diagnosis made?
What tests do we need to consider?
Red flags to consider.
Lifestyle management and pain relief.

Take home messages

Chronic pancreatitis is often misdiagnosed as non-specific abdominal pain.
Consider diagnosis in newly diagnosed diabetics.
Involve a pancreatic specialist early.
There is a high risk of cancer.
Don’t under estimate the psychological impact of a chronic disease – take a multi-disciplinary approach and include a dietician and a health psychologist.