【Abstract】 Objective To summarize the experience in radical excision of carcinoma of head of pancreas in order to improve the surgical skills and reduce the occurrence of postoperative complications. Methods The clinical material of 55 patients (ages: 32-72 years; mean age: 56.5 years) with carcinoma of head of pancreas who received radical excision from January 1996 to March 2005 were analyzed retrospectively. All the cases were pathologically verified as ductal adenocarcinoma of head of pancreas. The treatment time following the operations was divided into two phases by year 2002 ( phaseⅠ: 1996-2002; phaseⅡ: 2002-2005). Different surgical treatment groups were fixed and ICU and other measures were implemented during the second phase. Results All the patients, consisting of 31 males and 24 females, underwent consecutive extended resection. The radically curative rates of phaseⅠand phaseⅡ were 25.9%(29/112) and 34.7%(26/75), respectively, and the complication rates were 48.3%（14/29） and 19.2%（5/26）, respectively. A variety of surgical skills would improve the operation, including extended regional lymphadenectomy, resection of involved nerve plexus, combined vessel resection and comprehensive bleeding-control technique and so on. Conclusion The improvement of radically curative effect and the reduction of complication rate depend on the advancement of surgical skills and the further understanding of pathophysiology of carcinoma of head of pancreas.