Total pancreatectomy with islet autotransplantation is an ideal surgical procedure used to relieve chronic pain derived from the pancreatitis, while insulin-dependent diabetes is inevitably induced after the surgery. Islet autotransplantation combined with a total pancreatectomy can reduce the risk of severe diabetes by preserving available islet cells. We experienced a case with hereditary pancreatitis, which is a rare inherited condition characterized by recurrent acute pancreatitis and/or chronic pancreatitis. The case was that of a female in her thirties who was introduced to our hospital due to treatment-refractory abdominal pain derived from repeated pancreatitis even after surgical treatments. At the introduction, the pain was uncontrollable even by opioid use, and oral intake was impossible due to increase of the pain after the intake. She was genetically diagnosed with hereditary pancreatitis. For relieving the pancreatitis-derived pain, total remnant pancreatectomy with islet autotransplantation was planned. After the pancreatectomy, islet cells were extracted from the excised remnant pancreas, and injected into the portal vein for liver autotransplantation. The pain was completely relieved for her after the surgery, suggesting improvement of her quality-of-life. A glucose tolerance test and glucagon loading test performed one month after the surgery showed C-peptide secretion as the blood glucose rose. However, the serum c-peptide level and SUIT index had been gradually decreased after the surgery, and she is now treated with insulin. The case suggested that total pancreatectomy with islet autotransplantation is useful for improvement of the patient’s quality of life by controlling the pain in cases with hereditary pancreatitis.
