Impact of biliary stenting on surgical outcome in patients undergoing pancreatectomy. A retrospective study in a single institution.

PURPOSE

There are conflicting views regarding preoperative biliary drainage in patients undergoing pancreatectomy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of jaundice resolution on postoperative outcomes.

METHODS

Patients who underwent pancreatectomy in a single institution since 2010 were retrospectively analyzed. They were divided into two groups, depending on the presence or not of preoperative biliary drainage. Postoperative morbidity and mortality were evaluated.

RESULTS

Ninety-nine patients underwent biliary drainage by endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) (PBD group), while 105 patients had no biliary drainage (non-PBD group). No significant difference between the two groups could be identified in terms of overall complications (p = 0.121) or mortality (p = 1). There was no significant difference regarding pancreatic fistula (p = 0.554), delayed gastric emptying (p = 0.127), hemorrhage (p = 0.426), number of reoperations (p = 1.000) or readmissions (p = 1.000). The only significant difference was found in the hospital stay, where patients who underwent preoperative biliary drainage had a prolonged length of stay of more 3 days (15.52 vs. 11.31) (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Preoperative biliary drainage in patients undergoing pancreatectomy does not increase the rates of postoperative morbidity or mortality, but has a negative effect on hospital stay.