Spleen-preserving distal pancreatectomy combined with distal gastrectomy for distal pancreatic lesion and gastric cancer: Report of a case.

Spleen-preserving distal pancreatectomy with conservation of the splenic artery and vein was recently devised as a feasible operation. We report the case of a patient who underwent spleen-preserving distal pancreatectomy with conservation of the splenic artery and vein, combined with distal gastrectomy, for gastric cancer and a distal pancreatic lesion. Thus, unnecessary total gastrectomy was avoided. The operative blood loss and operative time were 630 ml and 465 min, respectively. The patient's postoperative course was complicated by a minor pancreatic fistula, which required daily irrigation and drainage, but she recovered and was discharged from hospital. This case report demonstrates that spleen-preserving distal pancreatectomy with conservation of the splenic artery and vein combined with distal gastrectomy can be performable synchronously and is a feasible alternative to avoid unnecessary total gastrectomy.