Comparison of long-term benefits of organ-preserving pancreatectomy techniques for benign or low-grade malignant tumors at the pancreatic head.

The aim of this article was to investigate and emphasize the clinical benefits of organ-preserving surgeries by comparing the pancreatic head resection with segmental duodenectomy (PHRSD), pylorus-preserving pancreatoduodenectomy (PPPD), and classic pancreatoduodenectomy (PD).A retrospective analysis of PHRSD (20 patients), PPPD (42 patients), and PD (92 patients) with benign lesions, low-grade malignancies, or early-stage carcinomas at the pancreatic head was performed since 2008. The intraoperative and postoperative courses and a long-term statuses were compared.The overall average age of the patients in 3 groups was 48.82 years old (range 12-76). The mean operative time and the blood loss were significantly less in the PHRSD and PPPD groups than that in the PD group (P < .05), but there were no differences between the PHRSD and PPPD groups. The possibilities of postoperative complications were equivalent in all 3 groups. During an average follow-up time of 61.1 months, there were no recurrence or distant metastasis happened. Patients in the PHRSD and PPPD groups had a better long-term nutritional status because they had less body weight loss (P < .01), and suffered less from long-term diarrhea (P < .001) than that in the PD group. However, the results in the PPPD group seemed to be better than that in the PHRSD group.PHRSD and PPPD are ideal procedures of organ-preserving pancreatectomy to fulfill the curative goals of benign lesions, low-grade malignancies, or early-stage carcinomas at the pancreatic head. It was proved to be operative safe and could bring patients with a better nutritional status and quality of life after surgery. However, PHRSD was more difficult with no better long-term benefits than PPPD, which asked a comprehensive consideration when made the surgical choice.