RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Application of minimally invasive techniques in the surgical management of distal pancreatic lesions is increasing. Despite this, numbers of laparoscopic distal pancreatectomy remain low and limited to treatment of benign and premalignant lesions. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of 31 patients who underwent distal pancreatectomy from 2005 to 2010. Patients were grouped according to mode of surgical access: open (ODP) or laparoscopic (LDP). Perioperative parameters were compared. RESULTS: Twenty-one (67.7%) patients underwent ODP and 10 (32.3%) LDP (median age 61; 80.0% females in LDP group, p = 0.030). Postoperative morbidity rate were comparable between the two groups. In the LDP group, there were significantly lower estimated blood loss (p < 0.001) and amount of blood transfusion (p = 0.001), smaller tumor size (p = 0.010) and fewer lymph nodes harvested (p = 0.020), shorter postoperative length of stay (p = 0.020), and shorter length of stay in surgical high dependency (p = 0.001). CONCLUSION: LDP is a safe, efficient technique for resection of benign and premalignant pancreatic lesions. Indices reflecting perioperative outcomes in this study are highly competitive with those in other major centers.