Inicios de la cirugía pancreática oncológica en España. Un tributo a los pioneros / The origins of oncological pancreatic surgery in Spain. A tribute to pioneers

La duodenopancreatectomía cefálica (DPC) es una intervención quirúrgica muy compleja cuyo desarrollo tuvo lugar de forma muy lenta y en los centros de mayor prestigio del mundo. El objetivo de esta investigación es conocer quiénes fueron los cirujanos que realizaron las primeras DPC en España y las circunstancias en que se realizaron. En un contexto histórico caracterizado por la gran escasez de medios técnicos y económicos, como era España en los años 50 del siglo XX, las primeras DPC se llevan a cabo en Barcelona, en el Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, donde se desarrolló una escuela de cirugía gastrointestinal liderada por cirujanos que se convirtieron en la punta de lanza de la cirugía española y referencias nacionales como fueron Pi-Figueras, Vicente Artigas, Soler-Roig y Antonio Llauradó. Casi de forma simultánea, en Oviedo, Luis Estrada introdujo también la DPC y la duodenopancreatectomía total tras un periodo de formación con los pioneros de la cirugía pancreática en Estados Unidos

Pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) is a very complex operation. Its development took place very slowly at the most prestigious centers in the world. The aim of this investigation is to know who were the first surgeons to perform a PD in Spain as well as its historical circumstances. Despite all kinds of difficulties and very few resources, the first PD in Spain were carried out in Barcelona at the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau where from the mid-50s a school of gastrointestinal surgery emerged with surgeons soon to become the spearhead of the Spanish surgery and a reference for the whole country: Pi-Figueras, Vicente Artigas, Antonio Soler-Roig and Antonio Llauradó. Almost simultaneously, in Oviedo, Luis Estrada also introduced the PD and total pancreaticoduodenectomy after a period of training with the pioneers of pancreatic surgery in the United States

History of pancreaticojejunostomy in pancreaticoduodenectomy: development of a more reliable anastomosis technique.

The history of pancreaticojejunostomy in pancreaticoduodenectomy is described. Many types of operations have been devised in search of a more reliable method of anastomosis. To perform a safe and reliable pancreaticoenteric anastomosis it is necessary to understand the organ characteristics of the pancreas. We investigated factors required for a reliable pancreaticojejunostomy and devised a new surgical technique that meets those requirements. We introduce the theoretical substantiation and clinical usefulness of our new surgical technique while reviewing the history of pancreaticojejunostomy after pancreaticoduodenectomy. The unique aspect of our method is approximation of the pancreas stump and jejunal wall by six to eight interrupted sutures. It is speculated that too many sutures and tying too tight in the anastomosis may cause ischemia and necrosis of the pancreatic stump by restricting the tissue blood flow. Our method allows us not only to reduce the number of sutures, but also to avoid some of the complicated manipulations done in any other existing methods. The newly devised pancreaticojejunostomy is an excellent surgical technique with anastomotic failure seen in only two patients and no deaths out of 162 consecutive patients.

[The historical development of resection surgery in pancreatic carcinoma]. / Die geschichtliche Entwicklung der resezierenden Chirurgie beim Pankreaskarzinom.

Based on the pitfalls of the past the development of pancreatic resection therapy is outlined, starting with the first distal pancreatic resection in 1882 performed by Trendelenburg. Giving details of operations from the first decades of this century the Whipple operation is described as the early cornerstone in the history of radical therapy of pancreatic cancer. Summarizing the disappointments of the seventies gives the clue to the present situation with a modified Whipple operation as the standard curative approach to pancreatic carcinoma today. Additionally, various aspects of palliative therapy for pancreatic carcinoma are discussed.