A Case of Chronic Pancreatitis with Pancreatic Stones Successfully Treated with Endoscopic Minor Papilla Sphincterotomy for Pancreas Divisum

Abstract

A 65-year-old male was admitted to our hospital because of repeated abdominal pain. The patient had been previously diagnosed as having chronic pancreatitis with pancreatic stones on the basis of finding of abdominal computed tomography (CT) . Endoscopic retrograde pancreatography revealed pancreas divisum and chronic pancreatitis with pancreatic stones. We judged that chronic dorsal pancreatitis was caused by insufficiency of pancreatic juice drainage from minor papilla, so we performed endoscopic minor papilla sphincterotomy for the improvement of pancreatic juice drainage. After the treatment, the patient has been free of episode of abdominal pain. Our experience suggests that endoscopic minor papilla sphincterotomy is one of the effective and noninvasive treatments of chronic dorsal pancreatitis with pancreas divisum.