After undergoing total pancreatectomy, where the pancreas is completely removed surgically, many patients suffer potentially life-threatening endocrine complications such as hypoglycemia and diabetic ketoacidosis. This is because the pancreas plays an important role in regulating blood sugar levels. However, it is not clear whether these complications differ between different types of total pancreatectomy. In a publication in Surgery, researchers at Thomas Jefferson University found that patients who received a single-stage total pancreatectomy, where the entire organ was completely removed, suffered higher rates of endocrine complications than those who had a total or two-stage pancreatectomy, where the remaining part of the pancreas was removed after a previous partial pancreatectomy.
