Tag Archives: Pancreatic Debridement

Published: Pancreatic Debridement via Sinus Tract Endoscopy

Pancreatic Debridement via Sinus Tract Endoscopy
Massachusetts General Hospital

Peter Fagenholz, MD
Assistant Professor of Surgery
Massachusetts General Hospital
Harvard Medical School

This patient is a 58-year-old male who was in a motor vehicle accident and developed a persistent necrotic collection adjacent to the pancreatic tail that did not improve with percutaneous drainage. Here, Dr. Peter Fagenholz at MGH performs a pancreatic debridement using sinus tract endoscopy (STE), a minimally-invasive technique for debridement of dead or infected tissue.

STE and other minimally-invasive techniques have significantly decreased morbidity and mortality for patients undergoing intervention for infected pancreatic necrosis. Common management principles include early non-interventional management to allow the necrosis to wall off, initial intervention with minimally-invasive drainage, and minimally-invasive necrosectomy addressing clearly demarcated necrosis.

STE involves the placement of a percutaneous drain followed by fluoroscopically-guided dilation of the drain tract to allow for placement of a working sheath, through which an endoscope can be introduced to debride the peripancreatic necrosis. After debridement, a drain is then replaced through the same tract.

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Pancreatic Debridement via Sinus Tract Endoscopy
Massachusetts General Hospital

Peter Fagenholz, MD
Assistant Professor of Surgery
Harvard Medical School

A patient who was involved in a motor vehicle accident developed large peripancreatic fluid collections and eventually had percutaneous drainage of those collections. In this video, Dr. Peter Fagenholz at MGH performs a pancreatic debridement utilizing sinus tract endoscopy after this patient’s necrotic collection had persisted for weeks.