ObjectiveTo evaluate the safety and feasibility of non-nasogastric tube throughout the perioperative period of classical Whipple pancreaticoduodenectomy. MethodsA retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of 63 patients who underwent Whipple pancreaticoduodenectomy at West China Hospital of Sichuan University from June 2020 to August 2023. According to whether nasogastric tube was placed throughout the perioperative period, the patients were divided into nasogastric tube group (NGT group, n=32) and no nasogastric tube group (no NGT group, n=31). The intraoperative indicators such as gastrointestinal anastomosis mode and outcome measures such as postoperative hospital stay were compared between the two groups. Results① Preoperative baseline data: the proportion of benign diseases (P=0.005) and preoperative pancreatitis (P=0.003) of the no NGT group were higher than those of the NGT group, and other preoperative baseline data, such as age and sex, were not statistically significant (P>0.05). ② Intraoperative index: the proportion of circular stapler (P=0.009) was smaller and the operation time was shorter (P<0.001), but there was no significant difference in the anastomosis, intraoperative blood transfusion and intraoperative bleeding (P>0.05). ③ Postoperative outcome measures: the postoperative length of hospital stay (P<0.001) and the incidence of delayed gastric emptying (P<0.001) of the no NGT group were lower than those in the NGT group, but the postoperative time of food intake, incidence of pancreatic fistula, incidence of postoperative bleeding, and Clavien-Dindo grade of complications were not significant (P>0.05), and on one died within 30 d after operation. ConclusionsThe results of this study preliminarily show that, it is safe and feasible not to place nasogastric tubes throughout the perioperativeperiod in patients undergoing classical Whipple pancreaticoduodenectomy. Compared with placing nasogastric tube, it can shorten the postoperative hospital stay, reduce the incidence of postoperative delayed gastric emptying.