Laparoscopic lateral pancreaticojejunostomy in the current era: A narrative review

Chronic pancreatitis is a benign disease which causes recurrent abdominal pain and loss of pancreatic function. Lateral pancreaticojejunostomy (LPJ) is a commonly performed drainage procedure for this condition. While usually performed through an open approach, there have been few cases of laparoscopic approaches for this condition. A literature review was conducted to understand the current status of laparoscopic longitudinal pancreatojejunostomy (LLPJ). We conducted a comprehensive literature search using PubMed, Embase and Cochrane Library to find the articles published until 1 st October 2023. We excluded studies involving paediatric patients or robotic assisted surgeries. Our evaluation focussed on pain relief scores, morbidity, hospital stay length, mortality rates and the development of endocrine and exocrine deficiencies in the patients. The patients in the analysis had a mean age of 36.5 and a male to female ratio of 1.4:1. The mean main pancreatic duct diameter was 11.5 mm. Tropical pancreatitis was identified as the primary cause. The surgical procedure was performed using 4 ports with minimal bleeding and a 13% morbidity rate. The conversion rate was 15%. The average operative time was 260 min and the mean hospital stay was 5.7 days. The results for pain control were excellent, as 90% of patients did not report pain in most series at the end of 3 years. The laparoscopic surgical management of chronic calcific pancreatitis with LPJ offers a safe and effective solution for pain relief in carefully chosen patients. However, further comprehensive studies with large sample sizes are essential to establish a more conclusive comparison between LLPJ and open surgery.