Laparoscopic Distal Pancreatectomy:Report of 26 Cases / 中国微创外科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To evaluate the safety and feasibility of laparoscopic distal pancreatectomy.Methods From September 2005 to June 2008,26 patients with masses located at pancreatic body/tail were treated in our hospital.Before the operation,25 of the cases were diagnosed with benign tumor and one was suspected as having malignant neoplasm.The median size of the tumors was 5 cm in diameter(range,1.2 to 10 cm).Results All of the operations were completed by laparoscopy.Distal pancreatectomy was performed on 15 patients with the spleen being preserved with(10 cases)or without(5)splenic vessels preservation;and laparoscopic distal splenopancreatectomy was carried out in 10 cases.In one patient who had received open distal splenopancreatectomy before admission,resection of the pancreatic body was made.The median operation time was 268.5 minutes in this series(range,129 to 400 minutes),and the median intraoperative blood loss was 100 ml(range,50 to 800 ml).The patients were discharged in 6 to 21 days postoperation(median,9 days).None of them developed pancreatic fistula or splenic infarction.Two of the patients developed encapsulated fluid and were cured by conservative treatments,one patient showed incisional infection.Follow-up was available in all the patients for 1 to 35 months(median,15.5 months).During the period,no recurrence was detected.Conclusions Laparoscopic distal pancreatectomy is feasible and safe for benign tumors located at the body or tail of the pancreas.