Vessel-Sparing Lymphadenectomy Should Be Performed in Small Intestine Neuroendocrine Neoplasms

The goal of primary tumor resection with lymphadenectomy (PTR) in small intestine neuroendocrine neoplasms (SI-NENs) is to avoid local recurrence while sparing as much of the small bowel as possible, even in the case of extensive mesenteric fibrosis. The results of PTR with retrograde vessel-sparing lymphadenectomy (VS-LA) were compared to those of conventional lymphadenectomy (Con-LA).

Prospectively collected clinical, surgical and pathological data of consecutive patients with SI-NENs who underwent small bowel resections were retrospectively analyzed regarding the resection technique performed.

In a 7-year period, 50 of 102 patients with SI-NENs had only small bowel resections; of those, 25 were VS-LA and 25 were Con-LA. Patients with VS-LA had tendentially more advanced diseases with slightly higher rates of abdominal pain, mesenteric shrinkage and more level III lymph node involvement compared to patients with Con-LA. VS-LA, however, resulted in shorter resected bowel segments (median 40 cm vs. 65 cm, p = 0.007) with similar rates of local R0 resections (72% vs. 84%) and resected lymph nodes (median 13 vs. 13). Postoperative clinically relevant complications occurred in 1 of 25 (4%) in the VS-LA and in 7 of 25 (28%) patients in the Con-LA group (p = 0.02). Three months after surgery, 1 of 25 (4%) patients of the VS-LA group and 10 of 25 (40%) patients in the Con-LA group (p = 0.002) complained about abdominal pain. One of eight patients in the VS-LA group and two of thirteen patients in the Con-LA group who had completely resected stage III disease complained about diarrhea (p = 0.31).

VS-LA seems to be oncologically safe and should be considered in small bowel resections for SI-NENs.