Chronic Pancreatitis with Inflammatory Mass in the Pancreatic Head

Chronic pancreatitis with inflammatory pancreatic head mass is a domain of surgical therapy. The main differential diagnoses are pancreatic head cancer and autoimmune pancreatitis. Best results are achieved by resection of the pancreatic head mass with adequate drainage of the pancreatic duct, but pancreatic head resection may become impossible in advanced stages of the disease. Adequate workup and timing of conservative and surgical therapy is of paramount importance for successful management.