Pancreaticoduodenectomy in combination with right hemicolectomy for surgical treatment of advanced gastric carcinoma located in the lower half of the stomach.

The results of surgical treatment of patients with gastric carcinoma infiltrating into the duodenum and the pancreas head and with N3 metastases are very poor. We have employed pancreaticoduodenectomy in combination with right hemicolectomy (PD + LH) with the aim of leaving no remnant of cancer cells in the vicinity of the primary lesion, in patients with carcinomas of the distal third of the stomach, associated with duodenal invasion, presence of fixity to the pancreas head or N3 metastases, in the last ten years. Twenty-six cases were treated with this technique (Group A). These cases were compared with 63 patients who underwent subtotal gastrectomy (Group B) in the same period. The operation time, amount of blood loss and numbers of operative complications were greater in Group A than in Group B. Operating mortality was found in 2 cases in Group B but was 0 for Group A. When the survival rates were compared, PD + LH can provide better long-term results than subtotal gastrectomy, especially in the patients with tumors infiltrating into the pancreas head or metastasizing to N3. The PD + LH is a rational and safe method for the treatment of gastric carcinoma infiltrating into the pancreas head or metastasizing to N3.