Clinical Analysis of Traumatic Pancreatic Injury

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Althoughpancreas injury is rare in abdominal trauma,it posesa challengeto the surgeon because its clinicalfeaturesare not prominentand the presence of main duct injurycannot be easily identified by imaging studies. Furthermore, severe pancreas injuries require a distal pancreatectomy or a pancreaticoduodnectomy which are associated considerable morbidity and mortality. We reviewed the clinical features of and outcomes for patients with pancreas injury. METHODS: For 10 years from Jan. 2001 to Dec. 2010, thirty-four patients were diagnosedas having pancreas injury by using an explo-laparotomy. Patients successfully treated bynon-operative management were excluded. Patients were divided into early (n=18) and delayed surgery groups (n=11) based on an interval of 24hours between injury and surgery. The clinical features of and the outcomes for the patients in both groups were compared. RESULTS: Males were more commonly injured (82.4% vs.17.6%). The mean age was 37.2 years. The injury mechanisms included vehicle accidents (62.9%, 22/34), assaults (20%, 7/34), and falls (11.4%, 3/34)). The head and neck of the pancreas was most commonly injured, followed by the body and the tail (16, 12, and 6 cases). Of the 34 patients, 26 (76.5%) patients had accompanying injuries. Grade 1 and 2 occurred in 14 (5 and 9) patients, and grade 3, 4, and 5 occurred in 20 (16, 3, and 1) patients. The early and delayed surgery groups showed no difference in surgical outcomes. Two patients with grade 3 in the early surgery group died after surgery,one due tomassive hemorrhage and the other due to septic shock. Of the five patients initially managed non-operatively,three developed peripancreatic necrosis and two developed pseudocyst. All five patients were successfully cured by surgery. CONCLUSION: All cases of pancreas injury in this study involved blunt injury, and accompanying injury to major vessels or the bowel was the major cause of mortality. Surgery delayed for longer than 24 hours after was not associated with adverseoutcomes.