Central pancreatectomy prevents postoperative diabetes

Central pancreatectomy (CP) can be performed as an alternative surgical approach to distal pancreatectomy (DP) in the treatment of benign or low-grade malignant lesions located in the neck and body of the pancreas, aiming to reduce loss of parenchyma and therefore organ failure. The objective of this study was to evaluate the short- and long-term outcome of CP in comparison to DP.

Patients who received CP in a large tertiary care pancreatic surgery center between 2001 and 2020 were identified from a prospectively maintained database and compared via propensity score matching with patients receiving DP during the same time period. Perioperative rate of complications and long-term outcome of pancreatic endocrine and exocrine function were evaluated.

One hundred and seven patients undergoing open CP were compared to 107 patients with open DP. No significant difference in rates or severity of most surgical complications could be found including postoperative pancreatic fistula, intraabdominal fluid collection, delayed gastric emptying and wound infection. However, patients receiving CP had a significantly higher risk of grade C postpancreatectomy hemorrhage (PPH) (CP: 10 patients, 9.3% versus DP: 1 patient, 0.9%; p = .0019). Perioperative mortality was comparable. Long-term follow-up of 60 matched pairs revealed significantly less patients with new-onset diabetes after CP (eight patients, 13.3%) compared to DP (22 patients, 36.7%, p = .0056).

CP offers an improved endocrine long-term outcome at the expense of a higher risk of PPH without increased perioperative mortality. As evidence on this parenchyma sparing surgical technique is sparse, more prospective data are needed.