Prospective cohort study on short-term outcomes of 3D-laparoscopic pancreaticoduodenectomy with stented pancreaticogastrostomy.

Background: Minimally invasive pancreaticoduodenectomy, either laparoscopic or robotic, is a high-risk procedure with demanding learning curve. The aim of this prospective cohort study was to evaluate short-term clinical and oncologic outcomes of 3D-laparoscopic pancreaticoduodenectomy (3dLPD) with stented pancreaticogastrostomy (sPG) and Roux-en-Y gastroenterostomy (ryGES).
Methods: Between March 2016 and July 2021, 347 consecutive patients underwent 3dLPD for confirmed or suspected pancreatic or periampullary tumors. Pancreatic duct diameter measured 3 mm or less in 221 (64%) and pancreatic texture was soft in 191 (55%) patients. Simultaneous resection of the superior mesenteric or portal vein was performed in 52 (15%) patients.
Results: Postoperative complications were observed in 189 (54%) patients, with severe complications (Clavien-Dindo grade > 2) in 68 (20%) including 4 (1.2%) deaths. Clinically relevant pancreatic fistula (cPOPF) occurred in 88 (25%), hemorrhage in 25 (7%), and bile leakage in 10 (3%) patients. Clinical pancreatic fistula was strongly associated with soft pancreatic texture and small pancreatic duct diameter (p < 0.001) and managed by endoscopic trans-gastric drainage in 34 (38.6%) patients, reoperation in 12 (13.6%), and ICU admission in 11 (12.5%). The remaining 31 (35%) patients with cPOPF were managed without invasive intervention. Median length of hospital stay after surgery was 13 (range 5-112; IQR 8-18) days. In pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PDAC) the R0-resection rate was 66/186 (36%), R1-indirect 95/186 (51%), and R1-direct 25 (13%). Median number of locoregional lymph nodes retrieved in PDAC was 21 (IQR 15-28). R0-resection rate for malignancy other than PDAC was 78/86 (91%) with a median of 16 (IQR 12-22) locoregional lymph nodes retrieved.
Conclusion: 3dLPD with sPG and ryGES is associated with 1.2% mortality and 25% cPOPF. About two-third of patients with cPOPF were managed with some type of invasive intervention, whereas the intraoperatively placed drains sufficed in one-third of patients.
Clinical Trial Registry: Clinicaltrials.gov NCT02671357.
(© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)