Shark mouth pancreaticojejunostomy reduced the rate of clinically related pancreatic fistula: a historic cohort comparative analysis

Background A novel procedure called shark mouth pancreaticojejunostomy (SMP) was developed, for the reconstruction of the pancreatic stump which has a theoretical advantage for anastomosis healing and wide applicability. Methods A comparative study of the patients who underwent SMP (SMP cohort) and those who underwent end-to-end dunking pancreaticojejunostomy (historic cohort) at Peking University Third Hospital was conducted. Each group was analyzed for the incidence of clinically relevant postoperative pancreatic fistula (CR-POPF) and morbidities. Results The clinicopathological data of 151 patients from the SMP cohort and 82 patients from the historic cohort were analyzed. In the SMP group, the rate of CR-POPF was 7.3% (11/151), which was significantly lower than the rate of CR-POPF in the historic group as 19.5% (16/82) (P = 0.005). The primary results were unaffected by sensitivity analyses based on several risk factors for CR-POPF. The rates of morbidities besides CR-POPF were 15.9% (24/151) in the SMP group and 17.1% (14/82) in the historic cohort (P = 0.194). The principal results were not changed by the propensity score matched (PSM) analysis. Conclusion SMP is a safe and simple surgical procedure for the reconstruction of the pancreatic stump compared with end-to-end dunking pancreticojejunostomy.