Laparoscopic pylorus-preserving pancreatoduodenectomy with double jejunal loop reconstruction: an old trick for a new dog

Pancreatoduodenectomy is an established procedure for the treatment of benign and malignant diseases located at the pancreatic head and periampullary region. In order to decrease morbidity and mortality, we devised a unique technique using two different jejunal loops to avoid activation of pancreatic juice by biliary secretion and therefore reduce the severity of pancreatic fistula. This technique has been used for open pancreatoduodenectomy worldwide but to date has never been described for laparoscopic pancreatoduodenectomy. This article reports the technique of laparoscopic pylorus-preserving pancreatoduodenectomy with two jejunal loops for reconstruction of the alimentary tract. After pancreatic head resection, retrocolic end-to-side pancreaticojejunostomy with duct-to-mucosa anastomosis is performed. The jejunal loop is divided with a stapler, and side-to-side jejunojejunostomy is performed with the stapler, leaving a 40-cm jejunal loop for retrocolic hepaticojejunostomy. Finally, end-to-side duodenojejunostomy is performed in an antecolic fashion. This technique has been successfully used in 3 consecutive patients with pancreatic head tumors: 2 patients underwent hand-assisted laparoscopic pylorus-preserving pancreatoduodenectomy, and 1 patient underwent totally laparoscopic pylorus-preserving pancreatoduodenectomy. One patient presented a Grade A pancreatic fistula that was managed conservatively. One patient received blood transfusion. Mean operative time was 9 hours. Mean hospital stay was 7 days. No postoperative mortality was observed. Laparoscopic pylorus-preserving pancreatoduodenectomy with double jejunal loop reconstruction is feasible and may be useful to decrease morbidity and mortality after pancreatoduodenectomy. This operation is challenging and may be reserved for highly skilled laparoscopic surgeons.