Major Venous Repair or Reconstruction During Laparoscopic Pancreatic Surgery: A Single Center's Experience

Background: In pancreatic cancer surgery, tumor violation of blood vessels is often considered a contraindication to surgery, especially laparoscopic surgery. We have completed 17 cases of major venous repair or reconstruction during laparoscopic pancreatic surgery, and we believe that this surgical method may be safe and feasible based on the skilled laparoscopic techniques. Materials and Methods: Between January 2014 and March 2022, a prospective cohort of 17 patients underwent major venous repair or reconstruction in our department. Among them, 15 cases underwent laparoscopic pancreaticoduodenectomy, 1 case underwent laparoscopic distal pancreatectomy, and 1 case underwent laparoscopic central pancreatectomy. In all of these cases, the pancreatic tumor invaded either portal veins (PV) or superior mesenteric veins. Given these clinical situations, 13 cases accepted laparoscopic venous resection and reconstruction, and 4 cases underwent venous repair. Results: Ten of 17 patients (58.8%) were male. The mean age was 67.1 (range 57–81). All patients' operations were successfully completed without transit to open. The average blocking time of venous resection and reconstruction was 30.1 (range 15–41) minutes and the average time of venous wedge resection and stitching was 24.0 (range 18–30) minutes. After surgeries, there were no complications such as PV stenosis, bleeding, thrombosis, and liver failure. Thirteen patients died within 2 years because of the tumor recurrence, and 4 patients are currently followed by outpatient visits, with no obvious signs of tumor recurrence. Conclusion: Studies have shown that the reconstruction or repair of the major veins under laparoscopic surgery is safe and effective. We recommended that surgeons need to have the basics of open surgery in case laparoscopic surgery cannot be continued, and have proficient laparoscopic surgery techniques combined with extensive training to achieve a learning curve for vascular anastomosis. Clinical Trial Registration number: KY2021SL152-01.