International autotransplantation of Langerhans islets into the portal tract after total pancreatectomy in a patient with chronic hereditary pancreatitis – case report and review of current literature

Abstract

Summary: Chronic pancreatitis with repeated painful relapses is a severe multifactorial, fibroinflammatory syndrome that significantly affects the quality of life of patients, mainly in terms of pain, development of diabetes mellitus, and repeated attacks of acute pancreatitis. Autologous islet transplantation after total pancreatectomy is a potential option in selected patients with severe, recurrent painful episodes of chronic pancreatitis. In our case, we present a patient with severe recurrent chronic pancreatitis. The patient required frequent hospitalizations with repeated stenting of the pancreatic duct. After the confirmation of a genetic mutation, the members of the multidisciplinary session decided to perform a total pancreatectomy with islet autotransplantation. In this case, we present the first international islet cell autotransplantation of Langerhans islets in Slovakia after total pancreatectomy in a patient with chronic hereditary pancreatitis. Key words: hereditary pancreatitis – total pancreatectomy – autotransplantation of Langerhans islets