New technique for pancreaticojejunostomy using a biological adhesive.

A new technique of pancreaticojejunostomy using a fibrin glue biological adhesive system (BAS) after pancreaticoduodenectomy is reported. Pancreaticojejunostomy was performed on 112 patients between 1971 and 1985. Forty-two of the patients received BAS application (Group I), but the remaining seventy did not (Group II). To evaluate more precisely the effectiveness of BAS, 22 patients in Group I (Group I-ST) and 26 patients in Group II (Group II-ST) who were operated upon by the same surgeon during the same period were reviewed retrospectively. The selection of patients for the use of BAS was randomized. In Group I-ST, one patient had a minor leak; no major leaks or operative deaths occurred. Two of the twenty-six patients in Group II-ST had minor leaks and one patient had a major leak causing death. This new technique for pancreaticojejunostomy using a biological adhesive system may be useful for preventing anastomotic leaks, especially in a patient with a normal pancreas.