Good outcome from surgery for ampullary tumour

Ampulla of Vater tumours are rare but usually resectable. There is debate as to the better surgical approach between the standard radical procedure, which provides adequate resection margins, and local resection, which may carry a lower mortality. This study reports the 16-year experience of a specialist unit with these tumours, and compares our results with that of recently published series.

A retrospective review of patients admitted with an ampullary tumour to the Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery Unit, Royal Adelaide Hospital, Adelaide, Australia, between January 1981 and April 1997.

Twenty-five patients (13 men, 12 women) of median age 65 years were admitted with an ampullary tumour to the unit during this period. The most common presentation was obstructive jaundice. Multiple endoscopic biopsy was found to be very reliable in distinguishing between benign and malignant tumours. Five patients, all male, had benign neoplasms: three adenomas, one carcinoid and one gangliocytic paraganglioma. Transduodenal local excision was performed in four patients. One patient had a Whipple procedure resulting in the only in-hospital death at 3 months. Twenty patients had adenocarcinoma, of which 13 patients had a pancreaticoduodenectomy, two local excisions, two palliative bypasses, two were unfit for surgery and one declined surgery. The resectability rate was 88%, with no operative mortalities. The 5-year actuarial survival of patients who underwent radical resection was 49%.

Proximal pancreaticoduodenectomy, preferably a pylorus-preserving procedure, is safe and effective in the treatment of ampullary carcinoma, with low operative mortality and good long-term survival. Local resection is only recommended for small benign tumours and for patients who may be unfit for radical surgery.