Laparoscopic vs. Open Resection of Noninvasive Intraductal Pancreatic Mucinous Neoplasms

Required resection margins for noninvasive intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMNs) are a controversial issue. Over a 10-year period we have resected IPMNs from the entire pancreatic gland with minimally invasive techniques and compared our survival and complication rates with open controls to see if any difference in resection margins and outcomes could be observed. Data were collected retrospectively, including our first cases of advanced laparoscopic resections. Five-year Kaplan–Meier curves were calculated and statistical analysis was performed using the log rank and Student’s T test for continuous variables. Chi square and Fisher’s exact tests were used for analyzing categorical variables. From March 1997 to Febuary 2006, we operated on 22 patients with noninvasive IPMNs, of which 9 (41%) were operated on laparoscopically and 13 (59%) using open techniques. Three patients underwent laparoscopic duodenopancreatectomy, compared to five in the open group. All resection margins were negative, but two patients required total pancreatectomy, both of which were performed laparoscopically. One of these was converted to open (11%) because of difficulty in reconstructing the biliary anastomosis. The overall complication rates were 56% for the laparoscopic group and 85% for the open group. Twenty-two percent of the laparoscopic group required reoperation and 11% required percutaneous drainage, compared to 15 and 23% in the open group, respectively. All patients are alive after a mean of 20 months (range = 2–43) in the laparoscopic group and 37 months (range = 1–121) in the open one (p > 0.05). Laparoscopic resection of noninvasive IPMNs of the entire pancreatic gland has similar complication and survival rates as open procedures. As a result, the laparoscopic approach is appropriate for noninvasive IPMNs of the entire pancreatic gland; however, larger cohorts are needed to see if any approach has superior outcomes. Because of these favorable results, studies are currently underway to see if the minimally invasive approach is also appropriate for invasive IPMNs.