Indications for and the technique of local resection of tumors of the papilla of Vater.

Local resection of tumors of the papilla of Vater was performed in six cases (three benign adenomas and three adenocarcinomas). Pathology was suggested in all cases by endoscopic biopsy and confirmed by operative excision. A method of excision of the tumor and reconstruction of the pancreaticobiliary apparatus was used that eliminated all gross and microscopic disease. Only one of the patients with benign disease (familial polyposis) suffered from local recurrence. All three patients with malignant tumors developed local recurrences within 2 years of resection. Local resection seems to be a viable alternative to Whipple's resection in patients with benign tumors. In malignant cases, local resection should be considered only a palliative procedure and confined to elderly patients with severe concomitant disease and patients in whom a more radical procedure would incur an undue surgical risk.