Persistent Pain in Chronic Pancreatitis after Endotherapy Is Relieved by the Frey Procedure, but at the Cost of Increased Complications and Functional Deficiency

Abstract

Introduction: Endotherapy has been suggested as first-line treatment for painful chronic pancreatitis despite randomized trials showing superiority for surgery. It has also been suggested that endotherapy may be used as a therapeutic test for pain relief and that patients who fail endotherapy also fail surgery.