The Path to Whipple Reconstruction for Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma: Trans-Mesocolon or Through Ligament of Treitz?

The path of the biliopancreatic limb for reconstruction of the pancreatic anastomosis during pancreatoduodenectomy for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma can be trans-mesocolon or through the ligament of Treitz. Even after curative intent pancreatoduodenectomy, incidence of recurrence in the surgical bed remains high and may lead to obstruction of the biliopancreatic limb. However, the association between path of jejunal limb and incidence of biliopancreatic limb obstruction has not been studied. Primary aim was to determine whether path of reconstruction predisposes to biliopancreatic limb obstruction in the setting of local recurrence.

Patients who underwent pancreatoduodenectomy for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (2008-2018) from a single institution were identified. As disease recurrence is the predominant cause of biliopancreatic limb obstruction, analysis was limited to patients with known recurrence at date of last follow-up. Given a known median time to recurrence of 8 to 10 months after resection for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, analysis was further limited to patients with at least 8 months of follow-up. Primary outcome was incidence of biliopancreatic limb obstruction.

Among the 517 patients identified, 182 were included. Median age was 65 years; 51% were male. Median follow-up was 22 months. Path of reconstruction was trans-mesocolon in 35% (n = 64) and through ligament of Treitz in 65% (n = 118). There was no difference between the two groups in clinicopathologic factors including age, tumor differentiation, grade, T-stage, N-stage, LVI, or PNI (all p > 0.05). Importantly, there was no difference in retroperitoneal margin positivity between groups (trans-mesocolon 8% vs ligament of Treitz 10%, p = 0.79). Both groups had similar post-operative outcomes including median length-of-stay (trans-mesocolon 6 days vs ligament of Treitz 6 days, p = 0.89) and median follow-up (trans-mesocolon 21 months vs ligament of Treitz 23 months, p = 0.68). Biliopancreatic limb obstruction was detected in 8% (n = 14) of which 14% (n = 2) were in the trans-mesocolon group and 86% (n = 12) were in the ligament of the Treitz group. Therefore, incidence of biliopancreatic limb obstruction was 3.1% in the trans-mesocolon group and 10.4% in the ligament of the Treitz group resulting in an absolute risk increase of 7.3%, risk ratio of 3.4, and relative risk increase of 2.3. There was no difference in median time to biliopancreatic limb obstruction between the groups (17.6 months vs 18.5 months, p = 1.0). Biliopancreatic limb obstruction was caused by locally recurrent pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma in 93% (n = 13) and kinking of the duodenojejunal anastomosis in 7% (n = 1). Intervention was performed in 71% (n = 10) and included surgical bypass in 29% (n = 4), percutaneous drain in 21% (n = 3), and endoscopic/surgical decompression in 21% (n = 3).

Biliopancreatic limb obstruction is a known complication after pancreatoduodenectomy for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma due to local recurrence in the surgical bed. This study shows that path of jejunal limb through the ligament of Treitz may be associated with a higher incidence of biliopancreatic limb obstruction compared with trans-mesocolon as the position of the biliopancreatic limb in the surgical bed may be more predisposed to obstruction after local recurrence. Larger studies are needed; however, given this potential risk of subsequent obstruction, these data suggest that the reconstruction paths may not be equivalent when performing pancreatoduodenectomy for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.