Overview of the Current Therapeutic Options in the Management of Pancreatic Pseudocysts

Abstract

Pancreatic pseudocysts are frequently encountered in various clinical settings. Surgical treatment is indicated in cases with severe and persistant symptoms, complications or a high suspicion of malignancy. There are many therapeutical options available with no prospective and randomised comparative studies to demonstrate clear advantages of a certain method while many of the classic procedures are nowadays frequently performed using a minimally invasive approach (endoscopic, laparoscopic or percutaneous). This paper presents an overview of the current available methods for the treatment of the pancreatic pseudocysts emphasizing the advantages, disadvantages and the limitations of each method – including the need for specific equipment and availability of highly trained medical specialists. The ideal management of the pancreatic pseudocysts involves a multidisciplinary team with all the possible methods available but this is rarely possible in the current medical practice.