Total Laparoscopic Pancreaticoduodenectomy

Top Cited Papers
Open Access
Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Laparoscopic pancreaticoduodenectomy represents one of the most advanced abdominal operations owing to the necessity of a complex dissection and reconstruction. Despite its first description by Gagner and Pomp1 in 1994, there has not been wide acceptance of the procedure to date. Pessimism has stemmed from long operative times, lack of apparent advantages, and the requirement of advanced laparoscopic skills. The current literature contains several case reports and small series of laparoscopic pancreaticoduodenectomy. However, in many of these articles, very few patients actually underwent a totally laparoscopic procedure.2-4 Rather, many choose to perform laparoscopic resection with subsequent open reconstruction. These hybrid approaches and the lack of sufficient patient numbers preclude any meaningful assessment of the maximal advantages of minimally invasive techniques or the feasibility and outcomes of a total laparoscopic approach to resection and reconstruction. Our aim was to describe the feasibility and outcome of total laparoscopic pancreaticoduodenectomy (TLPD) at a single institution.