Ten-year experience with duodenum and organ-preserving pancreatic head resection (Büchler-Farkas modification) in the surgical treatment of chronic pancreatitis

Quality of life instruments in acute and chronic pancreatitis: a consensus-based standards for the selection of health measurement instruments (COSMIN) approach

BACKGROUND

Pancreatitis is a common surgical emergency, associated with pain and poor quality of life for patients. However, assessment of patient-reported outcome measures in these patients is unclear. This study aimed to identify and evaluate the methodological quality of the health-related quality of life instruments used for patients with acute or chronic pancreatitis.

METHODS

Prospective studies that evaluated health-related quality of life in acute or chronic pancreatitis were identified from systematic review of MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Web of Science until 28th June 2023 (PROSPERO: CRD42021274743). Instrument characteristics were extracted, and methodological quality assessed using COSMIN (COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health status Measurement Instruments) guidelines and GRADE approach. Narrative synthesis was conducted, with recommendations for use based on COSMIN criteria, evaluated according to World Health Organisation (WHO) quality of life domains.

RESULTS

From 3850 records screened, 41 quality of life instruments were identified across 138 studies included. The majority (69.8%, n = 26) were designed to assess general health-related quality of life, whereas the remainder were abdominal-specific (n = 5) or pancreas-specific (n = 10). Only ten instruments (24.3%) demonstrated sufficient content validity, incorporating items in ≥5 WHO quality of life domains. However, only nine instruments (21.9%) incorporated public and patient involvement. Only the Gastrointestinal Quality of Life Index and PAN-PROMISE met the criteria to be recommended for use based on COSMIN methodological assessment.

CONCLUSION

There is significant heterogeneity in instruments used to assess quality of life after pancreatitis, with almost all instruments considered insufficient. Robust, validated, and relevant instruments are needed to better understand and determine appropriate interventions to improve quality of life for these patients.

Hasnyálmirigy-sebészet

Közleményünk célja bemutatni az új sebészi technikát és módszereket, amelyeket 1986 óta alkalmazunk az inficiálódott necrotizáló pancreatitis, a krónikus pancratitis gyógyításakor, illetve a szigetsejt-transzplantáció alkalmával.

Az inficiálódott necrotizáló pancreatitis (INP) az akut pancreatitis legsúlyosabb formája, amely az esetek többségében felelős a pancreatitishez kapcsolódó morbiditásért és magas halálozásért. 1986 óta 224 beteget gyógyítottunk INP miatt. A sebészi terápia magában foglalta a kiterjesztett necrosectomiát, a többszörös drenázst, amely biztosította a folyamatos öblítést. A sebészi beavatkozást követően supportiv kezelést alkalmaztunk. A globális kórházi mortalitás 7,7% volt. Tapasztalataink szerint, az INP komplex terápiája, amely magában foglalja az adequat sebészi beavatkozást, a folyamatos, hosszan tartó, többszörös öblítést és a supportiv kezelést, biztosíthatja a sikeres gyógyítást.

A krónikus pancreatitisben szenvedő betegek egyharmadában az inflammatoricus folyamat a pancreasfej gyulladásos tumorát idézi elő, amely a vezetékrendszerek obstructioját, alkalmasint a duodenum kompresszióját idézi elő, fájdalmat és fogyást okozva. Minthogy egy benignus elváltozással állunk szemben, egy biztonságos szervmegtartó pancreasfej-resectiót (OPPHR) dolgoztunk ki, amely magában foglalja a pancreasfejben kialakult gyulladásos tumor széles resectióját, anélkül, hogy a pancreast a v. portae felett izolálnánk, illetve átvágnánk. Napjainkig 196 esetben végeztünk szervmegtartó pancreasfej-resectiót mortalitás nélkül. A műtét után a betegek életminősége 89%-ban javult. A 10 éves klinikai megfigyelés és a prospektiv randomizált összehasonlító vizsgálat egyértelműen alátámasztotta, hogy az OPPHR-műtét egy biztonságos és hatásos beavatkozás, amely hosszú távon javítja a betegek életminőségét.

A distalis pancreas resectio leggyakoribb szövődménye a pancreas fistula, amelynek kivédésére számos műtéti megoldást alkalmaznak, változó sikerrel. Az irodalmi adatok alapján a fistula kialakulása 6–30% -ra tehető distalis resectio után. Műtéti gyakorlatunkban 1994-ben alkalmaztuk először a pancreas resectios felszínének zárására a Premium PolysorbR (abszorbeálodó laktomer) kapocssort. Napjainkig e módszert 187 distalis resectiós műtétnél alkalmaztuk. A postoperativ időszakban két esetben jelentkezett pancreas fistula, amelyek konzervatív kezelésre szanálódtak. Így a postoperativ fistula incidenciája 0,9% volt.

A hasnyálmirigy-szigetsejt beültetésének egyik potenciális és egyben ígéretes forrása az embrionális hasnyálmirigy. Az embrionális pancreas endokrin szövet tartama csaknem 90%. Az izolált szigetek megfelelő feltételek mellett hosszabb ideig mesterséges körülmények között tenyészthetők, és ez alatt jelentős mértékű sejtosztódás, illetve differenciálódás jön létre. Előnynek tekinthető, hogy a tenyésztett szövetkultúra mélyfagyasztásos tárolása is megoldott, mely ún. szövetbank kialakítását teszi lehetővé. Az első embrionális szigetsejt klinikai transzplantációnk 1982-ben történt. Az ezt követő 25 esetben, köztük egy kombinált vese- és szigetsejt-beültetés, bár inzulinmentességet nem sikerül elérni, de az inzulinszükséglet szignifikáns csökkenése mellett, a cukoranyagcsere normalizálódott, és az 5–10 évig működő szigetsejtapparátus hatására a még nem visszafordíthatatlan másodlagos diabeteszes szövődmények (retinopathia, nephropathia, neuropathia) progressziója megállt, sőt az esetek egy részében javulást is eredményezett.

Pancreatic head excavation for tissue diagnosis may reduce unnecessary pancreaticoduodenectomies in the setting of chronic pancreatitis

BACKGROUND

The necessity to obtain a tissue diagnosis of cancer prior to pancreatic surgery still remains an open debate. In fact, a non-negligible percentage of patients undergoing pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) for suspected cancer has a benign lesion at final histology. We describe an approach for patients with diagnostic uncertainty between cancer and chronic pancreatitis, with the aim of minimizing the incidence of PD for suspicious malignancy finally diagnosed as benign disease.

METHODS

Eighty-eight patients (85.4%) with a clinicoradiological picture highly suggestive for malignancy received formal PD (group 1). Fifteen patients (14.6%) in whom preoperative diagnosis was uncertain between pancreatic cancer and chronic pancreatitis underwent pancreatic head excavation (PHEX) for intraoperative tissue diagnosis (group 2): those diagnosed as having cancer received PD, whereas those with chronic pancreatitis received pancreaticojejunostomy (PJ).

RESULTS

No patient received PD for benign disease. All patients in group 1 had adenocarcinoma on final histology. Eight patients of group 2 (53.3%) received PD after intraoperative diagnosis of cancer, whereas 7 (46.7%) received PJ because no malignancy was found at introperative frozen sections. No signs of cancer were encountered in patients receiving PHEX and PJ after a median follow-up of 42 months. Overall survival did not differ between patients receiving PD for cancer in the group 1 and those receiving PD for cancer after PHEX in the group 2 (P=0.509).

CONCLUSION

Although the described technique has been used in a very selected group of patients, our results suggest that PHEX for tissue diagnosis may reduce rates of unnecessary PD, when the preoperative diagnosis is uncertain between cancer and chronic pancreatitis.

RESECTION OPERATIONS IN SURGICAL TREATMENT OF PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC PANCREATITIS COMPLICATED BY BILIARY HYPERTENSION

Surgical treatment was applied in 145 patients with complicated forms of chronic pancreatitis (CP) at the department of surgery of the Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Clinical Hospital in 2009–2016. Fourty-nine (33.7 %) patients had symptoms of biliary hypertension (BH); in five (3.4 %) of them BH was combined with chronic duodenal obstruction (CDO), the other 5 (3.4 %) patients had a combination of BH+CDP and local venous hypertension of pancreaticobiliary area vessels. Resection-type surgeries were applied in 28 (57.1 %) patients with CP complicated by BH. Intraoperative monitoring of biliary pressure was used in 17 patients in the process of duodenum-preserving resections of the pancreas. Frey’s procedure was applied to 20 (71.4 %) patients, in whom BH persisted after the resection stage of the surgery; Frey’s procedure was supplemented by interventions on bile ducts: hepaticoenteroanastomosis was applied in 12 patients, excision of pancreas lingula was applied in one patient, internal biliopancreatic anastomosis was applied in one patient. Berne modification was used in 2 (7.2 %) patients, and pancreaticoduodenal resection (PDR) according to Whipple – in 6 (21.4 %) patients. Remote results were studied in 19 (67.8 %) patients. Patients after duodenum-preserving resections had the best quality of life indicators, for BH signs were absent.

PolysorbR (an absorbable lactomer) staples, a safe closure technique for distal pancreatic resection

AIM: To investigate twenty-year experience evaluated the use of the Polysorb^R (an absorbable lactomer) staples for distal pancreatic resection.

METHODS: The data on 150 patients [92 men, 58 women, mean age 52 (24-72) years] who underwent distal pancreatectomy (DP) in the last 20 years were collected prospectively from an electronic database. The diagnosis was confirmed by endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography, sonography, computed tomography and/or magnetic resonance imaging. The indications for DP were focal pancreatic necrosis, spontaneous pancreatic fistulas, abscesses, pseudocysts, segmental chronic obstructive pancreatitis in the tail, traumatic disruption, and benign (cystadenomas, insulinomas, or glucagonomas) or malignant tumours. The distal resections were performed without splenectomy in 29 of the 150 patients (19%). In the event of splenectomy, the splenic artery and vein were individually ligated, the TA-55 Auto Suture stapler, loaded with Premium Polysorb^R 55 staples (5.5 mm), was placed across the gland, and the trigger was pulled, the action of which produced two staggered absorbable suture lines. The gland distal to the stapler was then amputated with a scalpel on the TA-55 stapler and the two rows of staples were left in the proximal pancreatic stump. After the distal resection, a drainage tube was inserted into the pancreatic bed.

RESULTS: The average duration of the operation was 150 min (range: 90-210 min) and no transfusion was indicated during the operation. After DP in one patient a type B fistula was diagnosed, which was treated successfully by conservative treatment comprising of 12-d octreotide medication (3 × 0.1 mg/d) and jejunal feeding. The incidence of postoperative pancreatic fistula was therefore 0.6%. Another 2 patients suffered postoperative pancreatitis, which was also conservatively treated. Reoperations were performed in 2 patients on the first or second postoperative day, necessitated by bleeding from the retroperitoneal region. The morbidity was 3.3% (5 patients), but no mortality occurred in the postoperative period. Overall, the postoperative period was uneventful without any complications (pancreatic fistula, abscess, bleeding or wound infection) in 145 patients. The length of the postoperative stay ranged between 8 and 16 d. For the 145 patients who had no any postoperative complications, the hospital stay was 8 or 9 d. No mortality occurred in the follow-up period (6 or 12 mo postoperatively); but 6 mo after surgery one patient suffered a pseudocyst following recurrent pancreatitis and was treated with cystojejunostomy.

CONCLUSION: Our clinical results demonstrated that the application of absorbable lactomer staples for distal pancreatic resection is a safe alternative to the standard closure technique.

[Surgical treatment of chronic pancreatitis, 2010]

INTRODUCTION

Chronic pancreatitis (CP) is a benign inflammatory process, which can cause enlargement of the pancreatic head accompanied by severe pain and weight loss, and often leads to a significant reduction in quality of life (QoL). Basically, the disease is characterised by pain and functional disorders which are initially treated with conservative therapy, but in case of complications (uncontrollable pain or obstruction) surgical treatment is required.

METHODS

This article reviews the relevant literature of CP treatment, in particular randomized controlled trials and meta-analyses were involved with a comparison of different surgical treatment options for the management of CP complications.

RESULTS

Recent studies have demonstrated that surgical procedures are superior to endoscopic therapy as regards long-term results of QoL and pain control. There was no significant difference found in postoperative pain relief and overall mortality when duodenum-preserving pancreatic head resection (DPPHR) of Beger and its modification (duodenum and organ-preserving pancreatic head resection [DOPPHR]) were compared with pancreatoduodenectomy (PD), but hospital stay, weight gain, exocrine and endocrine insufficiency, and QoL were significantly better in the DPPHR and DOPPHR groups.

CONCLUSION

DPPHR and PD seem to be equally effective in terms of postoperative pain relief and overall mortality. However, recent data suggest that DOPPHR is superior in the treatment of CP with regard to several peri- and postoperative outcome parameters and QoL. Therefore, this should be the preferable treatment option for CP complications.