New member with questions...Pseudocysts

[Guest guest]

I have read some of the messages...this site gives great insight to

what others with pancreatitis have endured....

Some background....

My husband was hospitalized for 2 months with idiopathic acute

pancreatitis 7 months back...in the latter part of his

hospitalization, microlithiasis was found during an ultrasound.

Ultimately, his gall bladder was removed. Well, this bout of

pancreatitis left 3 pseudocysts (2 on the tail, 1 on the head). His

last CAT Scan 2 months back, reveiled that 2 of his cysts had

decreased in size...and one remained the same. The largest is 3cm.

We are afraid of infections, or ruptures. His doctor has not placed

him on any specific diet...once and a while he experiences some

pain, but thank god it is not something he can't handle.

Unfortunately, we don't have the best doctor looking out for him,

due to our insurance.

My questions...

1)Do most pseudocysts resolve on their own?

2)Should all pseudocysts be drained? I read that doctors only

interfere when the cysts are 6cm and larger?

3)If they are not drained could there be any complications when they

are 3cm?

4)Should we be worried about other possible things?

5)What should we be asking the doctors to do?

6)Why does he experience pain, (pain occurs once in a while, for a

half hour or so...not too excruciating).

I would appreciate any kind of feedback.

[Guest guest]

Dear Sarrasun,

I'm using your email name for lack of another one, please

introduce yourself next time so we can talk to you by name

(smile).

Sometimes an acute attack will result in pseudocysts. These

are collections of enzymes that have escaped the main body of

the pancreas and encapsulized themselves into small loose

walled collections of tissue. This is a complication of acute

attacks, yet doesn't happen to that many people.

To answer your questions, yes, most pseudocysts will slowly

resolve on their own. This can take some time, though, don't be

disappointed if the progress is slow.

No, all pseudocysts don't necessitate drainage. The rule of

thumb is that pseudocysts 6 cm. or larger are considered life

threatening, and have potential to rupture, so usually those of

this size are the ones that need to be drained.

Things that you should be concerned about would be any acute

attack. Even though pseudocysts can be resolving on their own,

they can also fill back up again after an episode of pancreatic

trauma or irritation. Even psueodocysts that have been drained

can do this. This is what happened in my case, my largest

pseudocyst had been partially drained two years ago, was

resolving well and was under 2 cm. in December. But after

December I had another acute attack and the cyst filled back up

again and grew to an even larger size than it had been originally!

You should be asking your doctors to continue regular

monitoring of the pseudocysts as they have, either by ultrasound

or ct-scan, at LEAST once a year, but preferrably every six

months. Any time that your husband experiences increased

pain, a temperature, or an acute attack, there is reason for

concern, as this may be an indication that irritation is involved

and the pseudocysts could be growing. A prolonged episode of

severe pain usually means that some trouble may be brewing.

In my experience, I could actually feel that the pseudocysts were

larger because of my low body weight. One is clearly visible as a

mound in my abdomen if I am lying flat on my back.

The pain that your husband feels off and on is normal pain from

the pseudocysts, unfortunately. They get irritated and this

causes pain. It is a really good sign that this pain is infrequent

and not a constant, daily complaint. He is very fortunate that they

do not discomfort him more.

Usually good enzyme supplementation will help some in

reducing the pain. Is he on pancreas enzyme supplements to

take whenever he eats?

I hope this information helps answer your questions. I have

several articles on pseudocysts that are too long to post here,

but I'd be happy to send them to you if you'd like more

information. Please post again and let us know if you have any

more questions or if I can help in any way.

My eyes are dilated from an opthomology exam this a.m., and I

can't see the screen very well, so if there are any mistakes in this

post, please ignore them!

With hope and prayers,

Heidi

Heidi H. Griffeth

South Carolina

Southeastern Representative

PAI, Intl.

Note: All advice or comments are personal opinion only, and

should not be substituted for professional medical consultation

Pseudocysts 3 cm. or smaller are usually not of much concern

or complication, but should be monitored on a regular basis, ( a

CT-scan is a reliable diagnostic procedure for this) at least once

every six months, to ensure that they aren't getting any larger

> Some background....My husband was hospitalized for 2

months with idiopathic acute pancreatitis 7 months back...in the

latter part of his hospitalization, microlithiasis was found during

an ultrasound.

this bout of pancreatitis left 3 pseudocysts (2 on the tail, 1 on the

head). His last CAT Scan 2 months back, reveiled that 2 of his

cysts had decreased in size...and one remained the same. The

largest is 3cm.

My questions...

1)Do most pseudocysts resolve on their own?

2)Should all pseudocysts be drained? I read that doctors only

interfere when the cysts are 6cm and larger?

3)If they are not drained could there be any complications when

they are 3cm?

4)Should we be worried about other possible things?

5)What should we be asking the doctors to do?

6)Why does he experience pain, (pain occurs once in a while, for

a half hour or so...not too excruciating).