Total mesopancreas excision in radical resection of pancreatic head carcinoma

Abstract

Objective To evaluate the concept of artery first and total mesopancreatic excision in radical resection of pancreatic head carcinoma through both anterior and posterior approaches.Method The anterior approach was to identify the superior mesenteric artery (SMA) and the posterior approach to confirm the possibility of negative margin at the origin of SMA,on the posterio-lateral vascular wall of superior mesenteric vein (SMV) and the supposed posterior of the mesopancreas.The resection scope were with the celiac trunk and common hepatic artery as the upper boarder,the SMA as the left boarder,the inferior mesenteric vein (IMA) level as the lower boarder,to achieve a complete mesopancreatic excision,namely the en bloc resection of all the involved nerve,the lymph tissue and vascular tissue along the right side of the axial composed by SMA and celiac trunk.Results Of the 15 patients,11 had radical Whipple procedure,among which 2 had a combining SMV resection and reconstruction.1 case suffered from delayed gastric emptying and 2 cases from bile leakage.There was no mortality.The postoperative pathology reported carcinoma in all 11 cases,with duodenum and low bile duct involved in 4 cases,with the duodenum involved in 6 cases,no surrounding tissue involvement was identified in 1 case.Nerve involvement was found in 7 (7/11),vascular involvement in 10 (10/11),and lymphnode metastasis was (2.5 ± 3.8/12.9 ± 4.9).Conclusions The radical resection of pancreatic head carcinoma using the concept of artery first and the total mesopancreatic excision is helpful for an early evaluation of the possibility of radical resection and guarantees negative margins. Key words: Pancreatic neoplasms ; Pancreaticoduodenectomy ; Mesopancreas ; Total mesopancreas excision