Ascending pancreatitis with mediastinal and parapharyngeal involvement

A male patient who had suffered from alcohol dependence for several years was transferred to the Magdeburg University Hospital with signs of sepsis. The main cause for this was a previously unsuccessfully treated acute episode of chronic pancreatitis. Diagnostic imaging showed a distended ascending abscess extending above the larynx. During interdisciplinary emergency surgery, the neck, mediastinum and abdomen were drained and the pancreatic abscess removed. Under drainage, antibiotic therapy and parenteral nutrition the patient made a full recovery.