Laparoscopic pancreaticoduodenectomy in pancreatic cancer: Our initial experience

Abstract

Pancreas cancer is an important cause of mortality worldwide. It has no particular symptoms, and may cause differentcomplaints according to tumor diameter and localization. Local invasion may develop in the short term and distantmetastasis may occur in vascular structures in its neighborhood. That’s why, resectability rates are low at the time ofdiagnosis with a negative effect on survival rates. Minimally invasive surgery is being increasingly implemented in pancreas lesions owing to the positive short-term oncologic results of the technique in many other procedures. Traditionally, conventional open surgery is performed in pancreatic head tumors. As laparoscopic resection of pancreatic headcancer has serious technical difficulties and requires advanced laparoscopic experience, minimal invasive attempts inthis field have not yet reached sufficient acceptance worldwide. Besides the fact that laparoscopic pancreaticoduodenectomy may provide sufficient short-term oncologic results that are comparative with open surgery, it can be implemented in selected patients in centers with advanced laparoscopic resection capacity. In this case series, we aimed topresent our experience of laparoscopic pancreaticoduodenectomy in pancreatic head cancer patients.