Study of preserving the PTCD tube after laparoscopic pancreaticoduodenectomy

Severe jaundice patients undergoing laparoscopic pancreaticoduodenectomy (LPD) tend to choose percutaneous transhepatic cholangial drainage (PTCD) for preoperative biliary drainage. However, there are few studies on whether to preserve PTCD drainage tubes after surgery. This study tentatively discusses that jaundice patients preserving the PTCD tube have similar postoperative recovery to that in ordinary patients undergoing LPD. We retrospectively reviewed 46 patients who underwent LPD between June 2019 and April 2022 at our department. They were divided into a drainage group with 16 patients and a normal group with 30 patients according to whether PTCD was performed. Patient demographics, perioperative data, and postoperative outcomes were observed and counted. The preoperative total bilirubin in the drainage group was significantly higher than that in the normal group. There was no significant difference in age, body mass index, American Society of Anesthesiologists grade, hemoglobin, albumin, operation time, postoperative hospital stay, or total complication rate between the 2 groups. The PTCD tube was preserved in all 16 patients after the operation, and only 1 patient (6.3%) developed PTCD-related postoperative complications, which were dislocations. It is safe and effective to choose PTCD to reduce jaundice before surgery and preserve PTCD tubes after surgery for moderate and severe jaundice patients who plan to undergo standardized and streamlined LPD. These patients achieve similar postoperative recovery of LPD as no-drainage patients.