Pancreatico‐jejunostomy decreases post‐operative pancreatic fistula incidence and severity after central pancreatectomy

Backgrounds

Central pancreatectomy (CP) is an alternative to pancreaticoduodenectomy and distal pancreatectomy in benign tumours of pancreatic isthmus management. It is known for a high post‐operative pancreatic fistula (POPF) rate. The purpose of this study was to compare POPF incidence between pancreatico‐jejunostomy (PJ) and pancreatico‐gastrostomy (PG).

Methods

Fifty‐eight patients (mean age 53.9 ± 1.9 years) who underwent a CP in four French University Hospitals from 1988 to 2011 were analysed. The distal pancreatic remnant was either anastomosed to the stomach (44.8%, n = 25) or to a Roux‐en‐Y jejunal loop (55.2%, n = 35) with routine external drainage allowing a systematic search for POPF. POPF severity was classified according to the International Study Group on Pancreatic Fistula (ISGPF) and Clavien‐Dindo classifications.

Results

The groups were similar on sex ratio, mean age, ASA score, pancreas texture, operative time and operative blood loss. Mean follow‐up was 36.2 ± 3.9 months. POPF were significantly more frequent after PG (76.9 versus 37.5%, P = 0.003). PG was associated with significantly higher grade of POPF both when graded with ISGPF classification (P = 0.012) and Clavien‐Dindo classification (P = 0.044). There was no significant difference in post‐operative bleeding (0.918) and delayed gastric emptying (0.877) between the two groups. Hospital length of stay was increased after PG (23.6 ± 3.5 days versus 16.5 ± 1.9 days, P = 0.071). There was no significant difference in incidence of long‐term exocrine (3.8 versus 19.2%, P = 0.134) and endocrine (7.7 versus 9.4%, P = 0.575) pancreatic insufficiencies.

Conclusion

PG was associated with a significantly higher POPF incidence and severity in CP. We recommend performing PJ especially in older patients to improve CP outcomes.