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Objectives: The multidrug regimen with fluorouracil, leucovorin, irinotecan, and oxaliplatin (FOLFIRINOX) is widely used for recurrent pancreatic cancer after pancreatic resection. However, there are concerns about severe toxicities and poor tolerability of FOLFIRINOX in these patients because some suffer from surgery-associated malnutrition, weight loss, and diabetes mellitus. We evaluated the toxicity and tolerability of FOLFIRINOX in these patients., Methods: This study was conducted as a secondary analysis of the Japan Adjuvant Study Group of Pancreatic Cancer 06 study, which was a multicenter observational study of FOLFIRINOX for pancreatic cancer in Japan. The toxicity and tolerability of FOLFIRINOX in recurrent disease correlated with those of both the locally advanced and the metastatic disease group., Results: The major grades 3 and 4 toxicities observed in the recurrent and locally advanced or metastatic disease groups were neutropenia (68% vs 63%), febrile neutropenia (4% vs 15%, P = 0.007), thrombocytopenia (4% vs 3%), diarrhea (4% vs 8%), and sensory neuropathy (0% vs 2%). The dose modification and relative dose intensity did not differ markedly between the groups., Conclusions: The toxicity and tolerability of FOLFIRINOX for recurrence after pancreatic resection were similar to those for locally advanced or metastatic disease with appropriate patient selection and dose modifications.

Background: In the field of gastroenterological surgery, laparoscopic surgery has advanced remarkably, and now accounts for most gastrointestinal operations. This paper outlines the current status of and future perspectives on robot-assisted laparoscopic pancreatectomy., Methods: A review of the literature and authors' experience was undertaken., Results: The da Vinci Surgical System is a robot for assisting laparoscopy and is safer than conventional endoscopes, thanks to the 3-dimensional hi-vision images it yields, high articular function with the ability to perform 7 types of gripping, scaling function enabling 2:1, 3:1, and 5:1 adjustment of surgeon hand motion and forceps motions, a filtering function removing shaking of the surgeon's hand, and visual magnification. By virtue of these functions, this system is expected to be particularly useful for patients requiring delicate operative manipulation., Conclusions: Issues of importance remaining in robot-assisted laparoscopic pancreatectomy include its time of operation, which is longer than that of open surgery, and the extra time needed for application of the da Vinci compared with ordinary laparoscopic surgery. These issues may be resolved through accumulation of experience and modifications of the procedure. Robot-assisted laparoscopic pancreatectomy appears likely to become a standard procedure in the near future.

Background/aims: Intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm (IPMN) and pancreatic endocrine tumors can develop at multiple sites of the pancreas at the same time, sometimes necessitating total pancreatectomy. When low-grade pancreatic malignancy is treated surgically, preservation of function to improve long-term QOL is emphasized. For low grade malignancy tumor of the pancreatic head and tail, we performed middle- segment-preserving pancreatectomy (MSPP), with resection of the pancreatic head and tail alone, resulting in favorable QOL., Methodology: MSPP was performed for 4 patients. Intraoperative blood loss, hospital stay, postoperative complications, histopathological findings and prognosis were examined., Results: Mean intraoperative blood loss was 1255 +/- 365g, mean hospital stay 61 +/- 53 days, and mortality 0%. Postoperatively, pancreatic fistula was observed in 3 patients, but subsided with conservative treatment. In one patient with diabetes preoperatively, diabetes was exacerbated postoperatively, necessitating insulin treatment. No postoperative onset of diabetes was observed. Percent change in body weight during the postoperative 6 month period from preoperative weight was 93 +/- 6.3%. One patient died of malignant lymphoma 1 year and 4 months after surgery. The other patients are alive and socially active., Conclusion: MSPP enables maintenance of good QOL long after surgery for malignancy affecting the head and tail of the pancreas.

To apply duodenum-preserving pancreatic head resection (DPPHR) as radical procedure for benign or low-grade malignant tumors, it needs the reconciliation of complete pancreatic head resection and preservation of the bile duct and peripancreatic vessels. Several modifications have been introduced and applied to remove these lesions, however, the techniques have not been made clear in the management of the peripancreatic vessels and the bile duct. The long-term outcomes of the DPPHR have been reported as extremely rare in comparison with pylorus preserving pancreatoduodenectomy (PPPD) in these pancreatic head tumors. The angiograms by multi-detector row CT (MD-CT) can be reconstructed more physiologically than selective angiography. The anterior arcade is predominant in 43% of 64 patients. Therefore, we modified the DPPHR to include a complete resection of the pancreatic head and the preservation of both anterior and posterior arterial arcades. The bile duct is covered by the pancreatic parenchyma in various ways. The techniques of the preservation of the bile duct are also introduced. We performed 21 DPPHRs and 19 PPPDs in the patients with benign or low-grade malignant pancreatic head tumor. There was no significant difference in operative factors. The postoperative death was one patient in PPPD, but none in DPPHR. The postoperative complications of PPPD were more often than that of DPPHR. There is no postoperative recurrence in DPPHR in the follow-up period from 2 to 216 months. Both exocrine and endocrine function and the long-term results following DPPHR were superior to those following PPPD. The DPPHR should be favored over the PPPD in benign or low-grade malignant tumors of the head of the pancreas if there is no compromise with oncologic radicality.

In navigation surgery, preoperatively acquired image data are used so that surgical instruments can be guided inside the body while their location is displayed on a computer monitor. It is used in cranial nerve and spinal surgery. In the field of abdominal surgery, however, surgical manipulations in the target area cause major changes in the displayed images compared with those obtained preoperatively, and therefore, with the exception of certain organs, navigation surgery is difficult to apply. In general, this type of surgery aims to use intraoperative image information to improve surgical precision, carry out the preoperative plan accurately, and avoid dangerous areas. Three-dimensional images of the vascular architecture obtained with multislice computed tomography (MS-CT) make it possible to visualize arteries, the portal vein, bile duct, and even the pancreatic duct from any angle, which cannot be done with conventional angiography. Accurate positional relationships in the affected region can be determined preoperatively by manipulating multiplanar reconstruction images at a work station. MS-CT is extremely useful in navigation for safe performance of all types of pancreatectomy.

Duodenum-preserving pancreatic head resection with preservation of the bile duct or without, has been performed in cases of benign or low-grade malignancies, such as intraductal papillary tumors, of the head of the pancreas. However, the selection of the patients, the area of resection in the head of the pancreas, and the operative procedures for the preservation of the pancreaticoduodenal vessels has not been realized among surgeons to apply duodenum-preserving pancreatic head resection as a radical treatment of intraductal papillary tumors. In our experience, duodenum-preserving pancreatic head resection can be applied in the majority of the patients with the branch type of intraductal papillary tumors, and it is necessary to resect completely the head of the pancreas to avoid tumor remnant and pancreatic fistula from the remaining pancreatic rim. Therefore, we modified it to include a total resection of the pancreatic head and the preservation of both anterior and posterior arterial arcades, due to the multiformity of the location of the tumor, the variation of the branch duct in the head of the pancreas, the closure of the minor papilla in some patients, and the unbalanced development of the arterial arcades of the pancreaticoduodenal region. We performed a duodenum-preserving total pancreatic head resection with preservation of the bile duct and the both anterior- and posterior-arterial arcades for 6 patients with the normal gland involving intraductal papillary tumors. The blood flow in this organ was based on the blood supply from both preserved arterial arcades, and the duodenum had retained good color, and the postoperative results were satisfactory.

Background: In the field of gastroenterological surgery, laparoscopic surgery has advanced remarkably, and now accounts for most gastrointestinal operations. This paper outlines the current status of and future perspectives on robot-assisted laparoscopic pancreatectomy. Methods: A review of the literature and authors' experience was undertaken. Results: The da Vinci Surgical System is a robot for assisting laparoscopy and is safer than conventional endoscopes, thanks to the 3-dimensional hi-vision images it yields, high articular function with the ability to perform 7 types of gripping, scaling function enabling 2:1, 3:1, and 5:1 adjustment of surgeon hand motion and forceps motions, a filtering function removing shaking of the surgeon's hand, and visual magnification. By virtue of these functions, this system is expected to be particularly useful for patients requiring delicate operative manipulation. Conclusions: Issues of importance remaining in robot-assisted laparoscopic pancreatectomy include its time of operation, which is longer than that of open surgery, and the extra time needed for application of the da Vinci compared with ordinary laparoscopic surgery. These issues may be resolved through accumulation of experience and modifications of the procedure. Robot-assisted laparoscopic pancreatectomy appears likely to become a standard procedure in the near future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]