A placebo-controlled double-blind multicentre study, with randomization into parallel groups, was performed to determine whether perioperative subcutaneous administration of octreotide 0.1 mg every 8 h reduces the rate of complications specifically related to pancreatic surgery. In all, 252 patients were evaluated (153 men, 99 women; mean(s.e.m.) age 53.1(0.8) years) who had pancreatic or periampullary tumour or other duodenal disease (157 patients) or chronic pancreatitis (95) and were undergoing elective pancreatic resection (100 Whipple's procedure, 60 distal resection, 12 others), pancreaticojejunostomy (66) or enucleation of pancreatic lesions (14). The proportion of patients with complications was significantly lower in the group treated with octreotide than in the placebo group (15.6 versus 29.2 per cent, P = 0.01). Octreotide thus appears to reduce substantially the risk of complications related to elective pancreatic surgery. Moreover, treatment acceptability was high.