Medial pancreatectomy.

The surgical treatment of benign tumors of the midportion of the pancreas usually consists of enucleation or formal pancreatectomy. To avoid extended pancreatectomy, a limited resection of the neck of the pancreas has been proposed when enucleation is not feasible. Seven published series report a total number of 78 patients treated by this technique. No postoperative mortality was reported. The operative morbidity ranged from 0% to 40%, mainly due to pancreatic fistulas, which mostly healed spontaneously. In the long term no diabetes mellitus and/or exocrine insufficiency was observed. After resection of low-grade malignant tumors, there was no local recurrence. Medial pancreatectomy is a safe method for the treatment of benign or low-grade malignant tumors of the neck of the pancreas.