After undergoing a total pancreatectomy, where the pancreas is surgically removed in its entirety, many patients face potentially life-threatening endocrine complications like hypoglycemia and diabetic ketoacidosis. This is because the pancreas plays a key role in regulating blood sugar levels. It is unclear, however, whether those complications differ between the different types of total pancreatectomy. In a publication in Surgery, researchers at Thomas Jefferson University found that patients who received a single-stage total pancreatectomy, where the entire organ is completely removed, faced higher rates of endocrine complications than those who had a completion or two-stage pancreatectomy, where the remainder of the pancreas is removed after a previous partial pancreatectomy.