Background
Portal vein invasion by a malignant pancreatic mass is currently not a contraindication to pancreatic resection with acceptable oncologic outcomes.
Aim
The aim of this paper was to identify the perioperative morbidity and long-term outcomes of venous resection (VR) during pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) and total pancreatectomy (TP) operations.
Materials and methods
We carried out a retrospective study of patients undergoing PD or TP between March 1995 and December 2014 at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, using data collected from an institutional review board-approved prospective database. Preoperative, operative, and postoperative clinicopathological data were collected and analyzed.
Results
Out of 601 patients who underwent PD and TP in this study, 104 (17.3%) underwent VR. The types of VR and reconstruction were as follows: type I (lateral venorrhaphy) in 49 (47.1%) patients, type II (patch graft) in 10 (9.6%) patients, type III (primary anastomosis) in 27 (26%) patients, and type IV (interposition venous graft) in 16 (15.4%) patients. Two (1.9%) patients underwent no portomesenteric reconstruction. The 90-day major postoperative complications and mortality in patients with VR were 44.2 and 7.7%, respectively, versus 29.2 and 4.4%, respectively, in patients with standard resection. The 1-year, 3-year, 5-year, and 7-year survival rates in VR with periampullary adenocarcinoma (PAAC) were 55.1, 27, 21.9, and 15.4%, respectively, whereas in patients with PAAC without VR, the survival rates were 78.4, 45.6, 34.6, and 30.9%, respectively (<0.01).
Conclusion
VR and reconstruction with PD can be performed safely with acceptable perioperative morbidity and long-term survival rates to achieve complete removal of the tumor.