Objective To summarize the experience of single center for radical antegrade modular pancreatosplenectomy (RAMPS) in the treatment of pancreatic body and tail cancer. Methods The clinical data of 52 patients with pancreatic body and tail cancer who underwent RAMPS surgery in the First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University from January 2013 to December 2016 were retrospectively analyzed. Results All operations of the 52 patients were successfully completed, with no death during hospitalization and 30 days after surgery. The operative time was (463±137) min (198–830 min), the median of intraoperative blood loss was 400 mL (100–2 800 mL), of which 19 cases (36.5%) received intraoperative blood transfusion. The median of hospital stay was 19.5 days (7–58 days). After operation, 18 patients suffered from pancreatic fistula, 5 patients suffered from delay gastric emptying, 7 patients suffered from peritoneal effusion, 3 patients suffered from pleural effusion, 4 patients suffered from abdominal infection, 2 patients suffered from abdominal bleeding. Reoperations were performed in 2 patients. There were 51 patients were followed up for 3–35 months (the median of 18 months) with the median survival time were 16.2 months. During the follow-up period, 21 patients suffered from recurrence or metastasis, of which 8 patients died. The results of Cox partial hazard model showed that, surgical margin ［RR=3.65, 95% CI was (0.06, 5.11), P=0.026］ and adjuvant therapy ［RR=6.43, 95% CI was (1.51, 27.43), P=0.012］ were statistically related with prognosis, the prognosis of patients with negative surgical margin and underwent adjuvant therapy were better than those patients with positive surgical margin and didn’t underwent adjuvant therapy. Conclusions RAMPS is safe and feasible in the treatment of pancreatic body and tail cancer, and it may improve the R0 resection rate. RAMPS combins with adjuvant therapy can contribute to better prognosis.
ObjectiveTo evaluate the feasibility and safety of laparoscopic radical antegrade modular pancreatosplenectomy through the ligament of Treitz approach for pancreatic body and tail cancer. MethodsOn 13th November 2017, we selected a patient with a suspicious malignant tumor in the body of pancreas but no evidence of metastasis or local invasion of the retroperitoneum for laparoscopic antegrade modular pancreatosplenectomy through the ligament of Treitz approach. The time of operation, the estimated blood loss, and post-operative complications were observed. ResultsThe procedure was completed successfully in 255 min, and the estimated blood loss was 200 mL, there was no need of transfusion and no significant post-operational complications had been observed. No tumor recurrence or distal metastasis was found after a 12 month’s follow-up. ConclusionLaparoscopic radical antegrade modular pancreatosplenectomy through the ligament of Treitz approach is a feasible and safe procedure for pancreatic body and tail malignant tumor in strictly selected patients.
Compared with open surgery, laparoscopic radical resection of the body and tail pancreatic cancer is gradually being accepted due to its shorter hospital stay, reduced intraoperative blood loss, and comparable perioperative and oncological prognosis. The proposal of radical antegrade modular pancreatosplenectomy (RAMPS) has established a standardized approach for resection scope and lymph node dissection in pancreatic body and tail cancers. Studies have confirmed that RAMPS surgery can achieve a higher N1 station lymph node dissection, R0 margin ratio, and satisfactory patient survival rates. Furthermore, RAMPS has demonstrated oncological advantages in terms of postoperative local control. Laparoscopic RAMPS (LRAMPS) has been shown to be technically feasible and to yield long-term oncologic outcomes comparable to open RAMPS. An increasing number of studies have evaluated LRAMPS as the standard surgical modality for resectable body and tail pancreatic cancers. This article discusses the main points and challenges of LRAMPS surgery, and presents some personal experiences.