Laparoscopic necrosectomy in acute necrotizing pancreatitis: Our experience

• Main Authors: Mittu John Mathew, Amit Kumar Parmar, Diwakar Sahu, Prasanna Kumar Reddy
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2014-01-01
• Series: Journal of Minimal Access Surgery
• Subjects: Laparoscopic necrosectomy; necrotizing pancreatitis; retroperitoneal; transgastric; transluminal
• Online Access: http://www.journalofmas.com/article.asp?issn=0972-9941;year=2014;volume=10;issue=3;spage=126;epage=131;aulast=Mathew
• ISSN: 0972-9941; 1998-3921

Context: Pancreatic necrosis is a local complication of acute pancreatitis. The development of secondary infection in pancreatic necrosis is associated with increased mortality. Pancreatic necrosectomy is the mainstay of invasive management. Aims: Surgical approach has significantly changed in the last several years with the advent of enhanced imaging techniques and minimally invasive surgery. However, there have been only a few case series related to laparoscopic approach, reported in literature to date. Herein, we present our experience with laparoscopic management of pancreatic necrosis in 28 patients. Materials And Methods: A retrospective study of 28 cases [20 men, 8 women] was carried out in our institution. The medical record of these patients including history, clinical examination, investigations, and operative notes were reviewed. The mean age was 47.8 years [range, 23-70 years]. Twenty-one patients were managed by transgastrocolic, four patients by transgastric, two patients by intra-cavitary, and one patient by transmesocolic approach. Results: The mean operating time was 100.8 min [range, 60-120 min]. The duration of hospital stay after the procedure was 10-18 days. Two cases were converted to open (7.1%) because of extensive dense adhesions. Pancreatic fistula was the most common complication (n = 8; 28.6%) followed by recollection (n = 3; 10.7%) and wound infection (n = 3; 10.7%). One patient [3.6%] died in postoperative period. Conclusions: Laparoscopic pancreatic necrosectomy is a promising and safe approach with all the benefits of minimally invasive surgery and is found to have reduced incidence of major complications and mortality.