Pancreaticoduodenectomy for malignant pancreatic and periampullary neoplasms in elderly patients

Forty-two patients (age range: 70 to 86 years) underwent pancreaticoduodenectomy between 1970 and 1990 for carcinomas of the pancreas (23), ampulla (8), common bile duct (5), duodenum (5), or islet cells (1). After resection, reconstruction was done by either pancreaticojejunostomy (13) or pancreaticogastrostomy (25); four patients had total pancreatectomy. The mean duration of operation was 5 hours, the mean blood loss was 2,200 mL, the mean transfusion requirement was 4 units of blood, and mean length of hospitalization was 22 days. There were no leaks or other complications related to the pancreatic anastomoses. Six (14%) major complications occurred including two (5%) operative deaths. Mean survival was 42 months (range: 2 to 219 months) for the entire group and 35 months for patients over the age of 80. This experience suggests: (1) pancreaticoduodenectomy can be performed with low operative morbidity and mortality in elderly patients, and advanced age should not be considered a contrainindication to this potentially curative procedure; (2) pancreaticogastrostomy is a safe and easy alternate method of reconstruction; and (3) prolonged survival is possible for elderly patients following pancreaticoduodenectomy for malignant pancreatic and periampullary neoplasms.