[3][5] Several common symptoms manifest hours after the injury such as tachycardia, abdominal distension, and midepigastric tenderness.

[5] Indications for surgical intervention include: peritonitis based on physical examination; hypotension in combination with a positive focussed assessment with sonography (ultrasound) for trauma (FAST); and pancreatic duct disruption based on the results of thin-cut computed tomography or endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP).

[3] Commonly, a laparotomy is done in order to directly visualize the injury, and generally this approach is the most accurate diagnostic method.

[4] The type of surgery depends on the degree of the injury and its proximity to the mesenteric blood vessels that serve the pancreas.

When injuries are not close to the mesenteric vessels, a distal pancreatectomy may be done; this procedure preserves much of the pancreas and usually avoids loss of its endocrine and exocrine functions.