Innovations in pancreatic anastomosis technique during pancreatoduodenectomies

Pancreatic fistula following pancreatic resections is still a relevant complication. The present work shows the efforts of a single institute to decrease this problem.

A total of 130 patients (63 men, 67 women) with a mean age of 60 (range: 23-81) years were operated on between January 2013 and March 2020. The most frequent type of pancreatic resection was a Whipple procedure with partial antrectomy. During all operations, an innovative method was used, namely a modification of the purse-string suture pancreatojejunostomy. Moreover, an early drain removal policy was applied, based on the drain amylase level on the first and subsequent postoperative days.

Mean postoperative hospital stay was 13 days (range: 7-75). The overall morbidity rate was 43.8%; the clinically relevant (grade B/C) pancreatic fistula (CR-POPF) rate was 6.9%. Delayed gastric emptying (DGE) was observed in 4% of the patients. The ratio of operative mortality was 0.7%; the reoperation rate was 5.3%. Based on the drain amylase level on the first postoperative day, two groups could be established. In the first one, the drain was removed early, on the fourth day in average (range: 2-6). In the other group, the drain was left in situ protractedly or reinserted later on.

A single center's experience proves that the refinement of the technique can improve the results of pancreatic surgery.