ABSTRACT
Massive ascites is are complication, but not exceptional, in pancreatitis. In a series of ten personal cases and a review of one hundred cases in the world literature, the authors attempt to define the main pathological and clinical characteristics of this disease and the best treatment. Ascites may follow abdominal trauma, involving the pancreas, sometimes it occurs during known chronic pancreatitis, often it is the first sign of pancreatic disease, whether acute or chronic. High levels of pancreatic enzymes in the ascitic fluid are the main factor in diagnosis of pancreatic ascites. The mechanism of formation of the ascites is loss of pancreatic fluid into the peritoneal cavity owing to a breach in the pancreas, the presence of enzyme-rich fluid, causing secondarily "chemical" peritonitis. Paracentesis abdominis or drainage of the fluid during exploratory laparotomy, permits one to obtain in certain cases, a cure of the ascites, but surgical drainage by an anastomosis between the pancreatic cyst and the digestive tract (pancreatico-digestive anastomosis), has the advantage of ensuring treatment of the ascites and of the responsible pancreatic disease.
