Background: We previously reported the stump closure method for the remnant pancreas in distal pancreatectomy, in which soft coagulation and polyglycolic acid felt attached with fibrin glue were utilized. Transpancreatic mattress suture with polyglactin 910 woven mesh was recently reported as a novel stump closure technique. We developed the modified transpancreatic mattress suture with polyglactin 910 woven mesh method, which combined our polyglycolic acid felt method with the transpancreatic mattress suture with polyglactin 910 woven mesh method.
Methods: The polyglycolic acid felt group included patients undergoing distal pancreatectomy in whom the pancreatic stump was closed with the polyglycolic acid felt method from 2017 to 2018 (n = 54); whereas the modified transpancreatic mattress suture with polyglactin 910 woven mesh group included those whose stump was closed with the modified transpancreatic mattress suture with polyglactin 910 woven mesh method from 2019 to 2020 (n = 51). Perioperative parameters, including grade B/C postoperative pancreatic fistula (clinically relevant postoperative pancreatic fistula), were assessed according to the stump closure method.
Results: The incidence of clinically relevant postoperative pancreatic fistula was significantly lower in the modified transpancreatic mattress suture with polyglactin 910 woven mesh group than in the polyglycolic acid felt group (7.8% vs 22.2%, P = .036). In multivariate analysis, the use of neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy and the transpancreatic mattress suture with polyglactin 910 woven mesh method were independent factors for preventing clinically relevant postoperative pancreatic fistula (P = .011 and 0.0038, respectively). Moreover, in the modified transpancreatic mattress suture with polyglactin 910 woven mesh group, the incidence of clinically relevant postoperative pancreatic fistula in patients with a thick pancreas (≥13 mm, 6.7%) was comparably as low as that in patients with a thin pancreas (<13 mm, 9.5%).
Conclusion: The modified transpancreatic mattress suture with polyglactin 910 woven mesh method is an effective stump closure technique to prevent clinically relevant postoperative pancreatic fistula after distal pancreatectomy. Our results warrant further prospective investigation to evaluate the efficacy of the modified transpancreatic mattress suture with polyglactin 910 woven mesh method compared with other standard closure methods (eg, stapler closure or hand-sewn closure).
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