Ultrasonic assistance during surgery for pancreatic inflammatory disease.

Real-time B-mode ultrasound scanning was used during 35 operations for inflammatory disease of the pancreas. In 21, ultrasonography was considered helpful in operative management of pancreatic pseudocysts, abscesses, and chronic pancreatitis. Assistance consisted of establishing a diagnosis not made during preoperative testing, more precisely localizing pancreatic abnormalities, and excluding the presence of pseudocyst, abscess cavities, and dilated ducts. Operative ultrasound is a safe and simple technique that may reduce the use of tissue dissection, contrast material injections, and radiation.