Stent Graft of Pseudoaneurysm Rupture After Subtotal Stomach-preserving Pancreaticoduodenectomy

Pseudoaneurysm rupture (PR) after subtotal stomach-preserving pancreaticoduodenectomy (SSPPD) is a potentially fatal complication.

This study included 122 patients who underwent SSPPD at the Matsuyama Red Cross Hospital between January 2016 and December 2021.

PR occurred in five patients (4.1%) after SSPPD. Preoperative diagnoses were cancers of the pancreatic head, distal bile duct, and gallbladder. All patients had postoperative Grade B or C pancreatic fistulas. PR occurred on postoperative days 8, 13, 20, 45, and 46. Bleeding sites were at the gastroduodenal artery transection, left gastric artery, and right hepatic artery. Four patients underwent peripheral stent graft placement, and one underwent haemostasis by coiling. Stent grafts for the gastroduodenal artery transected stamp were placed in the common hepatic artery, and in the superior mesenteric artery for PR in the right hepatic artery. All patients who underwent stent graft placement were treated with antiplatelet therapy; no complications or stent occlusion were observed in these patients. However, two patients died of cancer recurrence, 4 and 8 months after stent graft placement. The longest survival post stent graft placement was 50 months.

Peripheral stent graft placement for the treatment of PR after SSPPD can maintain peripheral blood flow and haemostasis.