Laparoscopic total pancreatectomy: Case report and literature review

Laparoscopic total pancreatectomy is a complicated surgical procedure and rarely been reported. This study was conducted to investigate the safety and feasibility of laparoscopic total pancreatectomy.

Three patients underwent laparoscopic total pancreatectomy between May 2014 and August 2015. We reviewed their general demographic data, perioperative details, and short-term outcomes. General morbidity was assessed using Clavien-Dindo classification and delayed gastric emptying (DGE) was evaluated by International Study Group of Pancreatic Surgery (ISGPS) definition.

The indications for laparoscopic total pancreatectomy were intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm (IPMN) (n = 2) and pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor (PNET) (n = 1). All patients underwent laparoscopic pylorus and spleen-preserving total pancreatectomy, the mean operative time was 490 minutes (range 450-540 minutes), the mean estimated blood loss was 266 mL (range 100-400 minutes); 2 patients suffered from postoperative complication. All the patients recovered uneventfully with conservative treatment and discharged with a mean hospital stay 18 days (range 8-24 days). The short-term (from 108 to 600 days) follow up demonstrated 3 patients had normal and consistent glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) level with acceptable quality of life.

Laparoscopic total pancreatectomy is feasible and safe in selected patients and pylorus and spleen preserving technique should be considered. Further prospective randomized studies are needed to obtain a comprehensive understanding the role of laparoscopic technique in total pancreatectomy.