In 1989, Fitz defined and classified severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) and he thought that surgical treatment of SAP is feasible. Since then, the strategy of treating SAP was a controversial issue over past decades. Currently, relevant literatures reported that medical or minimally invasive treatments are superior to surgical treatment, while it is too early to make the final conclusion because of the complexity of SAP. From 1989 to 2008, 1852 patients with acute pancreatitis were treated at the General Hospital of PLA, and the clinical data of 18 patients who died of SAP were retrospectively analyzed. Based on the analysis, we concluded that medical conservative therapy and surgical operative therapy should not be opposed to each other. Selecting ideal timing and appropriate operation on the basis of pathological changes of retroperitoneum and pancreatitis should be considered seriously, and the new concept of "miniaturization of trauma" should also be introduced in treating SAP.