Which doctor treats pancreatitis and who is the attending physician: which doctor to contact

Pancreatitis is an inflammatory process in the pancreas, which is referred to as pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract.

In diseases, two main functions are disturbed: the secretion of enzymes for the proper functioning of the digestive tract and the secretion of hormones, which affects the metabolism of glucose.

To know with certainty which doctor to consult in the presence of pancreatitis, the degree of complexity and form of pathology should be established.

Which doctor treats pancreas and pancreatitis

Every patient who is faced with pancreatic diseases asks the question of who treats pathological processes in the gastrointestinal tract.

He must decide on a specialist who will carry out the treatment.

Inflammatory changes in the affected organ may be in the sphere of consideration of several doctors, since the final recovery will come only with complex treatment.

With acute pancreatitis

The onset of acute and intense pain in the upper abdominal cavity, piercing, stabbing, or burning origin indicates the formation of inflammatory changes in the pancreas, requiring urgent help.

The discomfort in the acute form of the disease gives the patient severe anguish, and a prolonged lack of proper treatment can lead to complex consequences of an irreversible nature.

The main solution in such situations will be to call doctors.

The specialist will examine the patient, take the necessary measures to provide immediate assistance, performed outside of inpatient conditions, and also hospitalizes the patient for a differential examination and therapy.

With an exacerbation of the acute form of the pathological process, the patient is hospitalized in the intensive care unit, where an examination by a resuscitation specialist and a surgeon will be carried out.

If such measures are not possible (for example, when the clinic is located remotely), the specialist decides on the delivery of a person to the surgical department, gastroenterology.

Further, in order to confirm the diagnosis, an assessment of the patient's complaints is given and an anamnesis is taken.

Then, a differential examination of the pathological process in question, as well as other diseases accompanied by similar laboratory signs, is carried out.

For this purpose, the patient undergoes the following types of laboratory and instrumental examination:

• Blood chemistry;
• Analysis of urine;
• Coprogram;
• ECG;
• Ultrasound;
• Cholecystopancreatography;
• CT and MRI;
• Angiography.

The tactics of diagnostic measures are selected by a specialist on an individual basis and varies from the data collected during the examination and questioning of the patient.

Based on this information, the doctor confirms or refutes the diagnosis and prescribes effective therapy.

In case of acute inflammatory changes in the pancreas, the patient is assigned measures to provide immediate assistance, and then the surgeon selects an effective treatment.

If the need arises, the therapeutic scheme can be adjusted taking into account the indicators of instrumental and laboratory diagnostics.

When the state of health of a patient with an acute form of pathology has stabilized, he will be transferred to the surgical department or gastroenterology.

Then a surgeon or a gastroenterologist will deal with his therapy. At the time of discharge, the patient will receive clear medical prescriptions about the use of medications, adherence to dietary nutrition and the need for supervision by a local doctor.

Directly he will continue to monitor the state of the pancreas and refer the patient to narrow-profile doctors.

With chronic pancreatitis

With the initial exacerbations of the chronic form of the pathological process in question in a person, there is a possibility of the formation of a rather complex attack.

In a similar situation, he needs to be provided with similar assistance as in acute pancreatitis. In the therapy of such patients, the same specialists are involved as in the initial attacks of pancreatic inflammation.

Over time, a similar disease manifests itself as dyspepsia and less severe pain.

In such situations, the patient turns to the local doctor who is treating the patient or referring him to a gastroenterologist for recommendations.

After a comprehensive diagnosis, the attending physician gives advice on the subsequent treatment of chronic pancreatitis or recommends hospitalization.

Which related specialist the doctor can refer to

With the destruction of cells in the affected organ, which secrete hormones that regulate sugar metabolism, the glucose content in the bloodstream increases, and fat metabolism worsens.

In case of impaired glucose metabolism, the formation of diabetes, it is required to seek help from an endocrinologist.

The presence of suspicions of an acute form or exacerbation of the chronic form of the pathological process in question is considered the cause for an immediate visit to the abdominal surgeon (specializing in surgical interventions on the abdominal cavity).

For a patient with a chronic course of the disease, in many situations it is necessary to consult an oncologist.

Symptoms of a long-term illness that causes anxiety:

• systematic weight loss;
• decrease in pain with a simultaneous increase in general malaise;
• stool disorders of a chronic nature with a predisposition to diarrhea;
• increased fragility of blood vessels, bleeding of tissues;
• pain in the bones.

The above symptoms are manifested in pathological changes in the pancreas, as well as in the presence of growths of malignant origin.

In addition, the long-term course of chronic pancreatitis can provoke the degeneration of the tissue of the affected organ, the formation of a tumor.

In what situations is the help of an endocrinologist required?

The parenchyma of the pancreas contains cells that produce hormones: glucagon, insulin and somatostatin.

Once in the bloodstream, they are involved in the regulation of glucose metabolism. But in the presence of inflammatory processes in the affected organ, these cells die, which leads to the formation of diabetes.

In such situations, the patient needs to know the recommendations of an endocrinologist.

The specialist puts the patient on a dispensary, monitors his health and selects the appropriate dose of insulin or other hormone replacement drugs.

If the need arises, the patient is recommended inpatient therapy in a specialized endocrinology department.

When you need help from an oncologist

The prolonged course of the chronic form of pancreatitis and the lack of proper treatment can provoke the formation of all sorts of neoplasms in the tissues of the pancreas.

They are detected during ultrasound, computed tomography, MRI and other modern methods of differential diagnostics assigned to the patient during dispensary observation or during exacerbations of the pathological process.

Cystic neoplasms, pseudocysts or tumors of malignant origin form in the tissues of the affected organ.

If there is the least suspicion of such adverse processes, the patient is advised to consult an oncologist.

This specialist directly decides on the need for surgery or chemotherapy.

The presence of a disease such as pancreatitis requires careful attention on the part of the patient to his own health, following all medical prescriptions and regular observation by doctors.

Only such an approach to such a pathological process will make it possible to prevent the formation of adverse consequences.

Surgical care and hospitalization

Exacerbation of the pathological process under consideration is often associated with intense pain, therefore, with such an unpleasant symptomatology, it is required to immediately call doctors or go to the nearest medical institution.

When a patient, in the presence of pronounced or latent manifestations of the disease, started the problem and did not apply to hospital immediately, the likelihood of a severe exacerbation increases, as a result of which an urgent hospitalization.

If, as a result of hospitalization, the patient ended up in the surgical department, then the surgeon or resuscitator performs therapy and examination of the pathological process.

In addition, the help of this specialist should be resorted to in a neglected situation of pancreatitis, which is accompanied by purulent processes.

Under these conditions, it will be necessary to carry out a surgical intervention. During the operation, the part of the stomach that is affected by erosion is removed from the patient in order to eliminate toxic substances.

Surgical intervention helps to stop the progression of the pathological process in question, but cannot completely eliminate it.

For these purposes, conservative therapy is required, which helps to heal the affected organ from inflammatory changes.

The list of specialists treating diseases of the pancreas is quite large, and the modern level of medicine makes it possible to achieve positive results of therapy.

Therefore, you should not delay going to the doctors when unpleasant and painful sensations appear in the gastrointestinal tract, but promptly seek qualified help from specialists.

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