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Highlights • Pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) following gastrectomy (TG) should be considered challenging even currently although its procedure and clinical value have been being standardized. • Short- and long-term outcomes as well as standard reconstruction method following these procedures remain unclear. In order to clarify these issues, we reviewed worldwide English literature and 4 of our own cases of PD for patients with previous TG. • In cases of PD following TG, previously-made Y-limb should not be used for reconstruction following PD because of probable cause of previously-made Y-limb for ALS. • Long-term outcomes of PD after TG seemed unsatisfactory notably in cases of pancreatic cancer and thus application of PD for patients with previous TG should be carefully decided until reasonable explanation for this dismal outcome is obtained., Purpose Pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) following gastrectomy (TG) should be considered challenging even currently although its procedure and clinical value have been being standardized. Short- and long-term outcomes as well as standard reconstruction method following these procedures remain unclear. In order to clarify these issues, we reviewed worldwide English literature and 4 of our own cases of PD for patients with previous TG. Methods Clinicopathological variables of 11 cases of PD for patients with previous TG were evaluated. Seven of these 11 were abstracted from a review of worldwide English literature and 4 of 11 were our own cases. Results 3 cases was reconstructed using Y-limb made in previous TG and afferent loop syndrome (ALS) was observed in 2 of 3, in these cases whereas no cases of ALS were found in cases reconstructed using newly-made Y-limb. In cases where PD was indicated for cancer, early cancer death, defined as death related to cancer recurrence observed within 2 years after PD, was observed in 6 of 9 cases. Notably in cases of pancreatic cancer recurrent cancer was diagnosed within 1 year after PD in 5 of 7 cases and 4 of these patients died of pancreatic cancer soon after recurrence. Conclusion In cases of PD following TG, previously-made Y-limb should not be used for reconstruction following PD because of probable cause of previously-made Y-limb for ALS. Long-term outcomes of PD after TG seemed unsatisfactory notably in cases of pancreatic cancer and thus application of PD for patients with previous TG should be carefully decided until reasonable explanation for this dismal outcome is obtained.

We present a case of afferent loop syndrome (ALS) occurring after pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) in a patient who had previously undergone total gastrectomy (TG), and review the English-language literature concerning reconstruction procedures following PD in patients who had undergone TG. The patient was a 69-year-old man who had undergone TG reconstruction by a Roux-en-Y method at age 58 years. The patient underwent PD for pancreas head adenocarcinoma. A jejunal limb previously made at the prior TG was used for pancreaticojejunostomy and hepaticojejunostomy. Despite normal patency of the hepaticojejunostomy, he suffered from repeated postoperative cholangitis which was brought on by ALS due to shortness of the jejunal limb (15 cm in length). We therefore performed receliotomy in which the hepaticojejunostomy was disconnected and reconstructed using a new Y limb 40-cm in length constructed in a double Roux-en-Y fashion. The refractory cholangitis resolved immediately after the receliotomy and did not recur. Review of the literature revealed the lack of any current consensus for a standard procedure for reconstruction following PD in patients who had previously undergone TG. This issue warrants further attention, particularly given the expected future increase in the number of PDs in patients with a history of gastric cancer.