Anatomic and Surgical Aspects of Total Pancreatectomy in Swine.

BACKGROUND: The swine is a valuable model for preclinical research and surgical technique training. Induction of Type I diabetes is achieved by total pancreatectomy, therefore these animals may be used in several research studies, including islet transplantation field. Given the lack of information in the literature, the purpose of this work is to describe anatomic aspects of swine pancreas, the total pancreatectomy surgical technique, intra- and postoperative complications and the autopsy results. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Five hybrid male pigs, 20-35 kg, submitted to total pancreatectomy with duodenum, bile duct, and spleen preservation. Postoperatively, daily clinical assessment and capillary blood glucose collection were performed. At the end of the 30-day period or in the occurrence of serious clinical complications, euthanasia and autopsy were performed. RESULTS: The average duration of surgery was 128 minutes, without intraoperative deaths or anesthesia induction failures. The median survival was 6.6 days. Postoperative complications were weight loss (3), emesis (2), constipation (2), abdominal distension (2), diarrhea (1), and loss of appetite (1). All animals were euthanized due to serious complications. Two animals presented surgical complications (duodenal necrosis with gastroparesis and internal hernia with intestinal necrosis). The other 3 animals presented serious clinical complications related to exocrine pancreatic insufficiency due to deficiency of pancreatic enzymes. Glycemic values above 200 mg/dL were found on the first postoperative day and above 300 mg/dL on the seventh day in all animals. CONCLUSION: A model of total pancreatectomy with duodenum, spleen, and bile duct preservation in pigs was established. All animals became diabetic, however, animals without postoperative complications were euthanized due to serious complications related to pancreas exocrine insufficiency.

Bovine Pericardial Graft for Portomesenteric Reconstruction During Robotic Pancreatoduodenectomy.

BACKGROUND: Minimally invasive pancreatoduodenectomy (PD) is one of the most complex procedures in oncologic surgery. We present a video of robotic portomesenteric reconstruction with bovine pericardial graft during PD. METHODS: A 52-year-old woman was referred with a mass in the head of the pancreas. The tumor was in contact with the portomesenteric axis. The multidisciplinary team decided to perform an upfront resection. The surgery was performed as a pylorus-preserving pancreaticoduodenectomy with lymphadenectomy. The superior mesenteric artery first approach was used to expose the head of the pancreas, so that the entire surgical specimen was attached only through the tumor invasion of the portomesenteric axis. After resection of the invaded portomesenteric axis, its large extension precluded primary reconstruction, so a bovine pericardial graft was used for venous reconstruction. After completion of the venous anastomosis, reconstruction of the digestive tract was performed as usual. RESULTS: Surgical time was 430 min; clamp time was 55 min; and portomesenteric reconstruction took 41 min. Estimated blood loss was 320 mL without transfusion. Pathology confirmed T3N1 ductal adenocarcinoma with free margins. No pancreatic or biliary fistula was observed, and she was discharged on postoperative day 8. A postoperative examination confirmed the patency of the graft. The patient is doing well 6 months after surgery and has no signs of the disease. CONCLUSIONS: A bovine pericardial graft is useful for reconstruction and readily available, eliminating the need to harvest an autologous vein or use synthetic grafts. This procedure can be safely performed with the robotic platform.

[Surgical management of duodenal atresia due to annular pancreas and intestinal atresia IIIb]. / Manejo quirúrgico de atresia duodenal por páncreas anular y atresia intestinal IIIb.

Background: The presence of duodenal atresia related to type IIIb intestinal atresia is a rare association, with few cases reported in the literature, representing a surgical challenge considering that even isolated cases of type IIIb intestinal atresia are a challenge. The objective was to report the successful surgical management of a case of a complex intestinal malformation, characterized by duodenal occlusion secondary to annular pancreas and type IIIb intestinal atresia, with intestinal malrotation by definition and the presence of Meckel's diverticulum. Clinical case: We present the case report of a newborn sent to the second level of care with a diagnosis of duodenal obstruction not diagnosed prenatally, which resulted in duodenal atresia due to annular pancreas and type IIIb intestinal atresia according to the Grosfeld classification. The presence of duodenal atresia with type IIIb intestinal atresia is an extremely rare condition, even more so associated with annular pancreas. These cases are a challenge considering the short length of the small intestine and its consequent need for total parenteral nutrition for a prolonged period. Conclusions: The surgical management of this complex intestinal malformation resulted in a case with an adequate post-surgical evolution, based on the immediate start of enteral feeding with a short period of need for total parenteral nutrition that finally resulted in a short hospital stay.

Introducción: la presencia de atresia duodenal relacionada con atresia intestinal tipo IIIb es una asociación rara, con pocos casos reportados en la literatura, y representa un reto quirúrgico si se toma en cuenta que incluso los casos aislados de atresia intestinal tipo IIIb lo representan. El objetivo fue reportar el manejo quirúrgico exitoso del caso de una malformación intestinal compleja, caracterizada por una oclusión duodenal secundaria a páncreas anular y atresia intestinal tipo IIIb, con una malrotación intestinal por definición y la presencia de divertículo de Meckel. Caso clínico: reportamos el caso de un recién nacido enviado de segundo nivel de atención con un diagnóstico de obstrucción duodenal no diagnosticado prenatalmente, que resultó en atresia duodenal por páncreas anular y atresia intestinal tipo IIIb, según la clasificación de Grosfeld. La presencia de atresia duodenal con atresia intestinal tipo IIIb es una condición extremadamente rara y todavía lo es más asociada con páncreas anular. Estos casos son un desafío si se toma en cuenta la corta longitud de intestino delgado y su consiguiente necesidad de nutrición parenteral total por un periodo prolongado. Conclusiones: el manejo quirúrgico de esta malformación intestinal compleja resultó en un caso con una adecuada evolución postquirúrgica, basada en el inicio mediato de alimentación enteral con un periodo corto de necesidad de nutrición parenteral total que finalmente resultó en una corta estancia hospitalaria.

Agenesia del páncreas dorsal: reporte de caso y revisión del tema / Agenesis of the dorsal pancreas: case report and topic review

Complete agenesis of the dorsal pancreas (ADP) is an exceedingly rare congenital anomaly, compatible with life. It may be asymptomatic and usually incidentally diagnosed. In symptomatic cases, the clinical manifestations vary from abdominal pain, pancreatitis and diabetes mellitus to exocrine insufficiency with steatorrhea. We present a case report of a 28 year old female with ADP, diagnosed incidentally during radiological evaluation for hyperglycemias in SARS COV2 concomitant affection. Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography confirmed the absence of, neck, body and tail of the pancreas. Knowing the pancreatic embryogenesis, the clinical presentation of their malformations and the main radiological characteristics is important for the proper diagnosis of these anomalies.

Minimally Invasive Resection of the Uncinate Process of the Pancreas: Anatomical Considerations and Surgical Technique.

BACKGROUND: Low-grade lesions may benefit from pancreatic-sparing techniques. Resection of the uncinate process is rarely performed and reported due to its complexity that requires careful patient selection and accurate knowledge of the pancreatic anatomy. This study describes relevant anatomical elements to safely perform this complex operation in the minimally invasive setting. METHODS: In this study, consecutive patients undergoing resection of the uncinate process of the pancreas were studied. Patients undergoing open approach were used for comparison. Preoperative and intraoperative variables were recorded, and the diagnosis and tumor size were determined from the pathology reports. Immediate postoperative results and hospital stay were analyzed. Follow-up was used to assess long-term complications and endocrine and exocrine functions. RESULTS: Twenty-nine patients underwent resection of the uncinate process. The median age was 57 years. There were 21 males and eight females. Twenty patients underwent minimally invasive resection (14 laparoscopic and six by robotic approach) and nine were operated by open approach. A clinically relevant postoperative pancreatic fistula was observed in one patient (3.4%). Biochemical leakage was present in 44.8% of our patients. Mean follow-up was 62 months (3-147). Two patients needed reoperation during follow-up. No patient presented exocrine or endocrine insufficiency during late follow-up. CONCLUSION: Minimally invasive resection of the uncinate process of the pancreas is a complex but a feasible procedure that preserves the pancreatic endocrine and exocrine functions. This pancreas-sparing procedure is an interesting alternative to pancreaticoduodenectomy in selected patients.

What do surgeons need to know about the mesopancreas.

BACKGROUND: Pancreatoduodenectomy is the only treatment with a promise of cure for patients with pancreatic head adenocarcinoma, and a negative resection margin is an important factor related to overall survival. Complete clearance of the medial margin with removal of the so-called mesopancreas may decrease the recurrence rate after pancreatic resection. Here, we present some important information about the mesopancreas, total mesopancreas excision, and technical aspects to achieve negative resection margins. The area named mesopancreas is defined as the tissue located between the head of the pancreas and the superior mesenteric vessels and the celiac axis and consists of the nerve plexus, lymphatic tissue, and connective tissue. The superior mesenteric and celiac arteries define the border of the mesopancreas. En bloc resection of anterior and posterior pancreatoduodenal nodes, hepatoduodenal nodes, along the superior mesenteric artery nodes, pyloric nodes, and nodes along the common hepatic artery is necessary. CONCLUSIONS: Improved knowledge of the surgical anatomy of the region and technical refinements of excision of the mesopancreas along with standardized pathological examination are important to increase and to determine radical resection of pancreatic head cancer.

Vena Cava and Pancreatic head En Bloc Resection for an Invasive Inferior Vena Cava Leiomyosarcoma in a Liver Transplant Patient.

BACKGROUND: De novo neoplasms are one of the major causes of death in patients after the first year of liver transplantation. The occurrence of sarcomas is extremely rare and the survival is often poor. However, early diagnosis and radical surgical treatment, may benefit some select liver transplant patients. METHOD: We describe the case of a liver transplant patient who developed a locally advanced inferior vena cava (IVC) leiomyosarcoma, who underwent radical surgical treatment with resection of the IVC associated with duodenopancreatectomy, right nephrectomy, and IVC reconstruction. We address aspects of the diagnosis and surgical strategy. CONCLUSION: This case report illustrates that IVC and multivisceral resections may be feasible and safe in highly selected liver transplant recipients. Major surgery should not be excluded as treatment option in an immunosuppressed liver transplant patient.

Solid pseudopapilar neoplasm of the pancreas.

Solid pseudopapillary tumor of the pancreas is a rare entity, more frequent in women between the 2nd and 4th decades. The diagnosis is usually incidental and it can be reached by computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging. Subsequent pathological confirmation is necessary for an adequate treatment. A retrospective study of six cases was carried out. All the patients were female, between 14 and 56 years of age, in which 50% the tumor were an incidental finding. We had three cases located in the head and three in the body of the pancreas. We performed three pancreaticoduodenectomies and three distal pancreatectomies with splenic preservation, without disease recurrence.

El tumor sólido-quístico de páncreas es poco frecuente y predomina en mujeres entre la segunda y la cuarta décadas de la vida. Los pacientes son generalmente asintomáticos. El diagnóstico se realiza por imágenes con tomografía o resonancia magnética, y con la posterior confirmación patológica para poder ofrecer un tratamiento adecuado. Presentamos una serie de seis casos. Todas las pacientes fueron de sexo femenino, de entre 14 y 56 años. El 50% fueron un hallazgo incidental. Tuvimos tres casos localizados en la cabeza y tres en el cuerpo del páncreas. Se realizaron tres duodenopancreatectomías cefálicas y tres pancreatectomías distales con preservación esplénica, con buena evolución y sin recidiva.

Pancreatic damage control: the pancreas is simple don't complicate it / El control de daños en el páncreas es simple. No complique las cosas

Abstract Pancreatic trauma is a rare but potentially lethal injury because often it is associated with other abdominal organ or vascular injuries. Usually, it has a late clinical presentation which in turn complicates the management and overall prognosis. Due to the overall low prevalence of pancreatic injuries, there has been a significant lack of consensus among trauma surgeons worldwide on how to appropriately and efficiently diagnose and manage them. The accurate diagnosis of these injuries is difficult due to its anatomical location and the fact that signs of pancreatic damage are usually of delayed presentation. The current surgical trend has been moving towards organ preservation in order to avoid complications secondary to exocrine and endocrine function loss and/or potential implicit post-operative complications including leaks and fistulas. The aim of this paper is to propose a management algorithm of patients with pancreatic injuries via an expert consensus. Most pancreatic injuries can be managed with a combination of hemostatic maneuvers, pancreatic packing, parenchymal wound suturing and closed surgical drainage. Distal pancreatectomies with the inevitable loss of significant amounts of healthy pancreatic tissue must be avoided. General principles of damage control surgery must be applied when necessary followed by definitive surgical management when and only when appropriate physiological stabilization has been achieved. It is our experience that viable un-injured pancreatic tissue should be left alone when possible in all types of pancreatic injuries accompanied by adequate closed surgical drainage with the aim of preserving primary organ function and decreasing short and long term morbidity.

Resumen El trauma pancreático es un tipo de trauma poco común potencialmente fatal que está asociado con lesiones de órganos abdominales o vasculares. Usualmente, los signos clínicos son tardíos aumentado el riesgo de complicaciones respecto al manejo y al pronóstico general. Debido a la baja prevalencia de la lesión del trauma, no existe consenso entre los cirujanos alrededor del mundo sobre cómo se debe diagnosticar y tratar adecuadamente este desafío quirúrgico. La precisión en el diagnóstico es difícil por la localización anatómica y las manifestaciones clínicas tardías. El abordaje quirúrgico ha ido cambiando de dirección hacia la preservación del órgano para evitar complicaciones secundarias asociada a la perdida de la función exocrina y endocrina, o de potenciales complicaciones postquirúrgicas incluyendo las dehiscencias y fistulas. El objetivo de este artículo es proponer un algoritmo de manejo del trauma pancreático a través de un consenso de expertos. Las lesiones del páncreas pueden ser manejadas con una combinación de maniobras hemostáticas, empaquetamiento pancreático, sutura de la herida y drenaje quirúrgico cerrado. La pancreatectomía distal con la perdida de tejido vital pancreático debe ser evitadas. Los principios generales de la cirugía de control de daños deben ser aplicados cuando sea necesario para un manejo quirúrgico definitivo cuando y solo cuando la estabilización fisiológica haya sido lograda. En nuestra experiencia, el tejido pancreático sano debe preservarse cuando el trauma se asocia de un manejo mediante un drenaje quirúrgico cerrado con el objetivo de preservar la función primaria del órgano y disminuir a corto y largo tiempo las morbilidades.

Biliogastrointestinal reconstruction with duodenectomy and pancreas preservation by laparoscopy after open failed coledocoduodenostomy.

Las lesiones de la vía biliar y las reconstrucciones biliodigestivas son un reto quirúrgico para el cirujano, además de una situación que exige su máxima habilidad y conocimiento. Presentamos el caso de un paciente con una reconstrucción biliodigestiva por una lesión de vía biliar abierta la cual fue fallida. Se decide llevar a reconstrucción biliodigestiva por laparoscopia, con preservación del páncreas, en un asa con hepatoyeyunostomía y gastroyeyunostomía. Este caso ilustra la posibilidad del manejo con cirugía mínimamente invasiva incluso en los casos más graves; sin embargo, se requiere alta experticia al momento de abordarlo.Bile duct injury and bile duct reconstruction are a surgical challenge for the surgeon, in addition to a situation that demands maximum skill and knowledge. We present a case of a patient with a biliodigestive reconstruction due to an open bile duct injury which was failed, it was decided to take a biliodigestive reconstruction by laparoscopy, with preservation of the pancreas, with hepaticoyejunostomy and gastroyejunostomy. This case illustrates the possibility of handling with minimally invasive surgery even in the most severe cases, however, they require high expertise when addressing it.

Gene Expression Profiling of the Pancreas in Patients Undergoing Total Pancreatectomy With Islet Autotransplant Suggests Unique Features of Alcoholic, Idiopathic, and Hereditary Pancreatitis.

OBJECTIVES: To determine if RNA collected from pancreatic tissue, without the use of RNAlater, is useful for RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) despite degradation, and if so, then, via RNA-seq analysis, how does gene expression vary between pancreatitis etiologies. METHODS: Data were assessed in 2 dimensions, based on RNA-seq signal shape assessed by RSeQC v.2.6.4 and RNA expression after accounting for different degrees of degradation. RESULTS: Six measures of RNA characteristics (median RNA fragment size, reads per million kilobases saturation, transcript integrity number, distribution of hexamers, percentage of nucleotides that are guanine or cytosine, and duplicated reads) were significantly different between hereditary pancreatitis and idiopathic pancreatitis. Differential expression analysis revealed that 150 genes were differentially expressed between hereditary and idiopathic etiologies, 197 genes were differentially expressed between alcoholic and idiopathic etiologies, and 200 genes were differentially expressed between alcoholic and hereditary etiologies. We then determined that many enriched pathways between hereditary and idiopathic etiologies are related to the matrisome, and many of the enriched pathways between alcoholic and idiopathic etiology or hereditary etiology are related to ion transport. CONCLUSIONS: We found distinct RNA-seq signals between different pancreatitis etiologies in both of the dimensions in critical pathways for pancreas biology.

A Multimodal Approach for the First-Line Treatment of Infected Pancreatic Necrosis.

OBJECTIVES: Because infected pancreatic necrosis (IPN) has multiple presentations, not all patients are likely to benefit from the same first-line treatment. Our objective was to evaluate morbidity and mortality in a series of patients treated with a multimodal therapeutic approach. METHODS: Between May 2012 and May 2019, 51 patients diagnosed with IPN were treated. The 5 initial treatment alternatives were as follows: percutaneous drainage, minimally invasive necrosectomy, antibiotics alone, transgastric necrosectomy, and temporizing percutaneous/endoscopic drainage. Initial treatment selection depended on evolution, clinical condition, and extension of pancreatic necrosis. Success, morbidity, and mortality rates were determined. RESULTS: In terms of determinant-based classification, 37 were classified as severe, and 14 as critical. Percutaneous, temporizing drainage, minimally invasive necrosectomy, antibiotics alone and transgastric necrosectomy approaches were used in 21, 10, 11, 4, and 5 patients, respectively. Necrosectomy was not required in 18 patients (35%). There were no significant differences in mortality among the different treatment approaches (P < 0.45). Overall success, morbidity, and mortality rates were 68.6%, 52.9%, and 7.8%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The multimodal approach seems to be a rational and efficient strategy for the initial treatment of IPN.

Multivisceral resection vs standard gastrectomy for gastric adenocarcinoma.

INTRODUCTION: Multivisceral resection (MVR) is potentially curative for selected gastric cancer patients, supposedly at the cost of increased complications. However, current data comparing MVR to standard gastrectomy (SG) is lacking. OBJECTIVES: Compare complications and survival after MVR and SG. METHODS: In a retrospective cohort of 1015 patients with gastric adenocarcinoma, 58 underwent MVR and 466 SG. Groups were compared concerning their characteristics, complications, and survival. RESULTS: One hundred seventy-six patients had postoperative complications. Major complications were more frequent after MVR (P = .002). Surgical mortality was 8.6% and 4.9% for MVR and SG (P = .221). Older age, higher morbidities, and MVR were independent risk factors for major complications. The odds ratio for major complications was 5.89 for MVR with one or two organs and 38.01 for MVR with three or more organs. The pancreas was the most commonly removed organ and pT4b disease were confirmed in 34 (58.6%) of the MVR cases. Disease-free survival (DFS) was lower in MVR patients (51% vs 77.8%; P < .001), being worse according to the number of organs resected. In pN+ patients, DFS was worse after MVR. DFS was equivalent to pT4b and non-pT4b in the MVR group. CONCLUSIONS: Increased morbidity and lower survival are expected for gastric cancer patients undergoing MVR.