Reconstruction of the hepatic artery with the middle colic artery is feasible in distal pancreatectomy with celiac axis resection: A case report

Despite the advance of diagnostic modalities, carcinoma in the body and tail of the pancreas are commonly presented at a late stage. With unresectable lesions, long-term survival is extremely rare, and surgery remains the only curative option for pancreatic cancer. An aggressive approach by applying extended distal pancreatectomy with the resection of the celiac axis may increase the resectability and analgesic effect but great care must be taken with the arterial blood supply to the liver and stomach. Sometimes, accidental injury to the pancreatoduodenal artery compromises collateral blood flow and leads to fatal complications. Therefore, knowledge of any alternative restoration of the compromised collateral flow before surgery is essential. The present case report shows a patient with a pancreatic body cancer in whom the splenic, celiac, and common hepatic arteries were involved with the tumor, which extended almost to the root of the gastroduodenal artery. We modified the procedure by reanastomosis between the proper hepatic artery and middle colic artery without vascular graft. The postoperative course was uneventful, and the patient was discharged on postoperative day 19. The patient was immediately free of epigastric and back pain.