Assessing the Feasibility and Acceptability of Additional Pancreatic Nerve Plexus Neurotomy for Pain Management in patients undergoing Surgery for Chronic Pancreatitis- A Non-Randomized Interventional (PILOT) Study

In patients known to have chronic pancreatitis, relapsing upper abdominal pain is the main reason to seek surgical treatment. The purpose of surgical therapy is to relieve symptoms, especially pain, and to improve the patient’s quality of life. Several medical, endoscopic and surgical treatment strategies have been employed in routine practice for the purpose of treatment of the disease. Although surgical approach to chronic pancreatitis has been quite successful, management of patients with intractable pain from chronic pancreatitis has been difficult, often resulting in narcotic addiction and/or malnutrition from major pancreatic resections. In regard to this, a novel approach of Therapeutic Surgical Neurotomy in addition to Routine Standard surgery can be considered beneficial. Simple denervation of the pancreatic head nerve plexus fibers offers a logical approach of pain relief in chronic pancreatitis. In view of the same, no studies have been conducted on chronic pancreatitis assessing the feasibility of Therapeutic Neurotomy of Pancreatic Nerve Plexus as an adjunct to Standard Surgical Procedures in patients with Chronic Pancreatitis. This novel study thus aims to provide greater insights into the combined approach on Pain Relief, which being the most significant debilitating factor for patients with Chronic Pancreatitis.