Hepatopancreaticobiliary Surgical Outcomes at a Community Hospital

There is a national trend towards regionalizing complex hepatopancreaticobiliary (HPB) surgeries to high-volume institutions. Due to geographic and socioeconomic constraints, however, many patients in the United States continue to undergo HPB surgery at local community hospitals. This study evaluated complex HPB surgeries performed by a single surgeon at a low-volume community hospital from May 2007 to June 2021. A retrospective review of medical records (n=163) was done to collect data on patient demographics and outcomes. Surgical outcomes of HPB procedures were compared to published data from high-volume centers. Overall mortality within 30 days of the procedure was 1% (n=1). Using Clavien-Dindo classification, the major complication rate was 10%, including 8% grade III and 2% grade IV complications. Reoperation (2%) and readmission (3%) were rare in this population. Median length of stay was 7 days and median estimated blood loss was 500 milliliters. Surgical outcomes from the community hospital were comparable to high-volume centers. For pancreatic cancer patients treated at the community hospital, Kaplan-Meier curves revealed comparable 5-year survival time to national data. Complex HPB procedures can be safely performed at a low-volume hospital in Hawai'i with outcomes comparable to large tertiary centers.