“Pancreatic necrosis is the most devastating complication of acute pancreatitis. Management of this complex disease has improved dramatically over the past decade, and mortality rates are regularly reported in the range of 20% instead of the 50% to 70% range reported in the 1970s. Despite this improvement, 80% of deaths from acute pancreatitis evolve from infectious complications of pancreatic and peripancreatic necrosis.”

“The management of pancreatic necrosis demands the allocation of extensive resources. An aggressive operative strategy of multiple debridements with ultimate closure over drains can
lead to a low mortality rate in patients with this complex disease, but the determination of when to explore patients with sterile necrosis remains difficult.”

Branum G, et al Pancreatic necrosis: results of necrosectomy, packing, and ultimate closure over drains. Ann Surg. 1998 Jun;227(6):870-7.