Pertinence of Synbiotics in Surgery for Chronic Pancreatitis

Prebiotics & probiotics influence all pathogenic mechanisms of bacterial translocation. Used in combination, they are called synbiotics; and are considered to have beneficial effects on human health. Postoperative infectious complications in patients undergoing pancreatic surgery lead to a significant prolongation of hospital stay and increased costs. With its environmental, social, cultural and dietary distinctiveness, it might not be entirely appropriate to extrapolate western data onto the Asian subset of the population. Furthermore, there are no clinical trials from south east Asia, and the effectiveness of synbiotics in this population remains unclear given a paucity of applicable clinical studies. This books attempts to clear the air regarding the impact of perioperative synbiotic therapy on postoperative infectious complications, morbidity & mortality in patients undergoing pancreatic surgery for chronic pancreatitis.