The outcomes and complications of pancreaticoduodenectomy (Whipple procedure): Cross sectional study

Abstract

Background: Pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) is one of the most difficult and complex surgery that carries a high rate of major complications, including delayed gastric emptying (DGE), pancreatic fistula, bleeding, intra-abdominal collection, and pulmonary complications. In this study, we have tried to demonstrate the outcomes, and rates of complications from patients who had undergone this procedure by our surgical team.

Materials and methods: This retrospective study has been constructed on 98 patients who underwent pancreaticoduodenectomy from May 2010 to November 2017 in three different hospitals of the Sulaimanyah governorate in the Kurdistan region of Iraq by the same surgical team. Data was collected from the medical records of patients. A preoperative work up had done for all patients, including those who are necessary for anesthesia fitness and those for staging assessment. None of the operated patients received any types of neoadjuvant therapy.

Result: Out of all 98 patients who underwent PD, the most common complication was wound infection (23.5%), followed by pancreatic leak (21.4%). The pulmonary complication rate was 17.3%, while the intra-abdominal collection rate was 12.2%. In 12.2% of our patients we faced postoperative bleeding, with five patients having to be reopened for this reason. About 77.3% of patients that underwent preoperative ERCP had difficult bile duct dissection. There was an association between preoperative ERCP and difficult bile duct dissection (P Value < 0.001).

Conclusion: Outcomes of our surgical team compared to the published data of some other centers. Preoperative ERCP seems to make difficulty in bile duct dissection during PD.

Keywords: Complications; Outcomes; Pancreaticoduodenectomy; Whipple procedure.

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