• Kai Liao, Huaizhi Wang, Qilong Chen, Zheng Wu, and Leida Zhang.
• Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical University, No. 30 Gaotanyan Main Street, Shapingba District, Chongqing, 400038, China.
• J. Gastrointest. Surg. 2014 Aug 1; 18 (8): 1452-61.

BackgroundThe use of prosthetic grafts for superior mesenteric-portal vein reconstruction (SMPVR) after pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) with venous resection remains controversial. We evaluated the effectiveness and safety of using polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) interposition grafts for SMPVR after PD.MethodsWe identified 76 patients who underwent PD with segmental vein resection for pancreatic head and periampullary neoplasms at three centers between January 2007 and June 2012. The venous reconstruction technique depended on the length of venous involvement. Forty-two and 34 patients underwent SMPVR with primary anastomosis and SMPVR with PTFE interposition grafts, respectively. The postoperative morbidity, mortality, and patency were compared. For the patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (n = 65), survival was compared between the SMPVR with primary anastomosis (n = 36) and SMPVR with PTFE interposition graft groups (n = 29).ResultsPatients undergoing SMPVR with PTFE grafts had larger tumor sizes (3.4 ± 0.9 cm, 2.9 ± 0.9 cm, P = 0.016), longer operative durations (492.9 ± 107.5 min, 408.8 ± 78.8 min, P < 0.001), and greater blood loss (986.8 ± 884.5 ml, 616.7 ± 485.5 ml, P = 0.040) compared to those undergoing SMPVR with primary anastomosis. However, 30-day postoperative morbidity and mortality did not differ (29.4 and 2.9 %, respectively, for PTFE grafts and 33.3 and 7.1 %, respectively, for primary anastomosis). There were no cases of graft infection. The estimated cumulative patency of SMPVR 6 and 12 months after surgery did not differ (87.9 and 83.5 % after PTFE grafts, respectively, and 94.4 and 86.4 % after primary anastomosis, respectively). For patients who underwent surgery for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, there were no significant differences in the median survival time (11 vs. 12 months) or the 1-, 2-, and 3-year survival rates (35.7, 12.5, and 4.2 vs. 36.4, 17.3, and 8.7 %, respectively) for the PTFE and primary anastomosis groups.ConclusionsPTFE grafts could provide a safe and effective option for venous reconstruction after PD in patients with segmental vein resection.

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