Background: Left upper quadrant involvement by peritoneal surface disease (PSD) may require distal pancreatectomy (DP) to obtain complete cytoreduction. Herein, we study the impact of DP on outcomes of cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (CRS/HIPEC).
Methods: Analysis of a prospective database of 1,019 procedures was performed. Malignancy type, performance status, resection status, comorbidities, Clavien-graded morbidity, mortality, and overall survival were reviewed.
Results: DP was a component of 63 CRS/HIPEC procedures, of which 63.3 % had an appendiceal primary. While 30-day mortality between patients with and without DP was no different (2.6 vs. 3.2 %; p = 0.790), 30-day major morbidity was worse in patients receiving a DP (30.2 vs. 18.8 %; p = 0.031). Pancreatic leak rate was 20.6 %. Intensive care unit days and length of stay were longer in DP versus non-DP patients (4.6 vs. 3.5 days, p = 0.007; and 22 vs. 14 days, p < 0.001, respectively). Thirty-day readmission was similar for patients with and without DP (29.2 vs. 21.1 %; p = 0.205). Median survival for low-grade appendiceal cancer (LGA) patients requiring DP was 106.9 months versus 84.3 months when DP was not required (p = 0.864). All seven LGA patients undergoing complete cytoreduction inclusive of DP were alive at the conclusion of the study (median follow-up 11.8 years).
Conclusions: CRS/HIPEC including DP is associated with a significant increase in postoperative morbidity but not mortality. Survival was similar for patients with LGA whether or not DP was performed. Thus, the need for a DP should not be considered a contraindication for CRS/HIPEC procedures in LGA patients when complete cytoreduction can be achieved.