Venous thrombosis following pancreaticoduodenectomy with venous resection

Addition of en bloc segmental venous reconstruction (VR) to pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) for venous involvement of pancreatic tumors increases the complexity of the operation and may increase complications. The long-term mesenteric venous patency rate and oncologic outcome has not been well defined.

Our prospective database was reviewed to assess 90-day postoperative outcomes for patients who underwent PD or PD + VR (September 2004-June 2016). Two independent observers reviewed CT scans to determine long-term vein patency. In patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, the impact of VR on 5-year overall survival was assessed using multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression. Student's t-test was used to evaluate continuous variables and the chi-square test for categorical variables.

Three hundred ninety-three patients underwent PD (51 PD + VR). Patients undergoing PD + VR had longer operations (561 ± 119 versus 433 ± 89 min, P < 0.00001) and greater blood loss (768 ± 812 versus 327 ± 423 cc, P < 0.00001). There was no difference in 90-day mortality, overall postoperative complication rates, complication severity grades, reoperation, readmission, or length of stay. 26.7% experienced venous thrombosis. Most thromboses occurred in the first year after surgery, but we also observed late thrombosis in 1 patient after 89-month follow-up. Among 135 patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, survival was significantly longer in the PD-alone group (31.3 months [95% confidence interval: 22.9-40.0] versus 17.0 [95% confidence interval: 13.0-19.1], p_log-rank = 0.013).

PD + VR does not increase short-term morbidity, but venous thrombosis is frequent and can occur long after surgery. Survival is inferior when VR is required especially in the absence of neoadjuvant chemotherapy.