BACKGROUND Islet isolation is an essential process in every human islet transplantation protocol. Intraductal enzyme delivery followed by adequate distention of the pancreas is the most critical step in islet isolation. Anomalies of the pancreatic duct system can significantly affect this process. Thus, identification and characterization of ductal patency is of paramount importance to achieve optimal islet isolation. AIMS To investigate the frequency of duct obliteration in the human pancreas and explore donor/patient characteristics associated with specific ductal variations. METHODS We examined ductal patency of pancreata allocated for islet allotransplantation (n = 597) and autotransplantation (n = 21) after removal of the duodenum during islet isolation procedure. Donor/patient factors were reviewed from the batch files. RESULTS Among 559 deceased donor pancreata without pancreas divisum (n = 38, 6.4%), both ducts were patent in 50.1%, only ventral duct was patent in 46.7%, and only dorsal duct was patent in 3.2%. Donor age was not associated with the frequency of obliterated dorsal duct. Black race tended to have the higher frequency of patent dorsal duct. As expected, pancreas divisum was more frequent in chronic pancreatitis cases (n = 6, 28.6%). Within 7 cases of chronic pancreatitis with unknown etiology, we encountered one case of ventral duct obliteration. CONCLUSIONS The minor duodenal papilla and aging do not likely play an important role in the occurrence of dorsal duct obliteration. Although frequency of obliterated ventral duct was low in our population, physicians, including gastroenterologists and endoscopists, as well as islet transplantation researchers should be aware of this possibility.

中文翻译：

---

胰岛移植中胰脏背侧和腹侧导管的闭塞频率。

背景技术胰岛分离是每个人类胰岛移植方案中必不可少的过程。胰内分离中最关键的步骤是导管内酶递送以及胰腺的充分扩张。胰管系统异常会严重影响这一过程。因此，导管通畅的识别和表征对于实现最佳胰岛隔离至关重要。目的探讨人胰脏导管闭塞的频率，并探讨与特定导管变异相关的供体/患者特征。方法我们研究了胰岛分离过程中十二指肠切除后胰岛的异体移植（n = 597）和自体移植（n = 21）的胰导管通畅性。从批处理文件中检查了供体/患者因素。结果559例死者无胰脏供体胰腺（n = 38，6.4％）中，两条导管均获得专利，占50.1％，仅腹侧导管获得专利，占46.7％，仅背面导管获得专利，占3.2％。供体年龄与背管闭塞的频率无关。黑人种族的背侧动脉导管出现频率较高。不出所料，在慢性胰腺炎病例中胰脏分裂更为常见（n = 6，28.6％）。在7例病因不明的慢性胰腺炎中，我们遇到了1例腹腔闭塞。结论十二指肠小乳头和衰老在背管闭塞的发生中不太可能起重要作用。尽管在我们的人群中，腹腔管闭塞的频率很低，但是包括肠胃科医生和内镜医师在内的医生，