Preservation of splenic vessels during laparoscopic spleen-preserving distal pancreatectomy via lateral approach.

Preserving splenic vessels during laparoscopic distal pancreatectomy (SPDP-LA) is feasible and avoids unnecessary splenectomy.

To present our outcomes for this unique technique.

Between January 1998 and January 2012, 6 patients who underwent SPDP-LA for benign or low malignancy tumors in the pancreatic tail were included. Clinical characteristics as well as perioperative data were retrospectively recorded.

All procedures were successful, with an average operative time of 184 min (range: 88-277 min) and average blood loss of 401.7 ml (range: 10-900 ml). The mean hospital stay was 7 days. Pancreatic fistula occurred in 2 patients but was then cured by external drainage. There was no mortality. Follow-ups were available for all patients.

Our experience was characterized by a lack of conversions and by acceptable rates of postoperative fistula and morbidity. The lateral approach showed beneficial results in patients without complications and short post-operative hospital stays.