Comparison of Pathological Radicality between Open and Laparoscopic Pancreaticoduodenectomy in a Tertiary Centre

Laparoscopic pancreaticoduodenectomy (LPD) remained a formidable challenge owing to retroperitoneal location, difficult dissection near great vessels and critical intracorporeal anastomoses. Recent reviews of literature have established the feasibility and comparable short term outcomes of laparoscopic pancreaticoduodenectomy (LPD) with that of open pancreaticoduodenectomy (OPD). This study was undertaken to compare the pathological radicality of LPD with OPD. A prospective database of all patients who underwent standard pancreaticoduodenectomy from Mar 2006 to Feb 2011 was taken up for this study. 45 patients who underwent LPD and 118 patients who underwent OPD for periampullary and pancreatic head malignancy were taken up for analysis. The study groups were comparable in terms of age of presentation, ASA grades, comorbidity, type of surgery and BMI. There was no statistically significant difference with regard to tumor size, lymph node yield, node positivity rates, R1 rates and margin lengths. The pathological radicality of laparoscopic pancreaticoduodenectomy is comparable with that of open approach when performed by experienced minimal-access surgeons. Standardized protocols for evaluation of the resection margins should be mandatory in studies reporting outcomes of pancreaticoduodectomy.