Stomach-preserving distal pancreatectomy with combined resection of the celiac artery: radical procedure for locally advanced cancer of the pancreatic body.

To enhance the resectability of cancer of the pancreatic body, a new surgical technique should be developed. Of 25 patients with cancer of the pancreatic body who underwent distal pancreatectomy with curative intent, seven with cancer invasion around the celiac artery underwent stomach-preserving distal pancreatectomy with combined resection of the celiac artery. This procedure secured arterial blood supply to the whole stomach and liver via the inferior pancreaticoduodenal artery without arterial reconstruction. There was no postoperative mortality. One patient developed transient passage disturbance in the duodenum. Another one developed a minor pancreatic fistula. No patients had serious complications related to ischemia of the stomach or liver. The quality of life of the patients after surgery was well maintained, and planned adjuvant therapy was accomplished. Local recurrence was evident in only two patients. The median survival time of patients who underwent distal pancreatectomy with (n = 7) or without (n = 18) resection of the celiac artery was 19 and 25 months, respectively. The overall survival rate was not significantly different between the two groups (P = 0.5300). The present study suggests that this surgical procedure is a rational approach to locally advanced pancreatic body cancer invading around the celiac artery. In view of the feasibility of this procedure, it can also be adopted for less advanced cancer of the pancreatic body to enhance local control and survival.