Long-term Outcomes of Endoscopic vs Surgical Drainage of the Pancreatic Duct in Patients With Chronic Pancreatitis

A randomized trial that compared endoscopic and surgical drainage of the pancreatic duct in patients with advanced chronic pancreatitis reported a significant benefit of surgery after a 2-year follow-up period. We evaluated the long-term outcome of these patients after 5 years.Between 2000 and 2004, 39 symptomatic patients were randomly assigned to groups that underwent endoscopic drainage or operative pancreaticojejunostomy. In 2009,...