Pancreas-left gastric artery angle is associated with postoperative inflammation and drain amylase after laparoscopic gastrectomy.

INTRODUCTION

The pancreas often interferes with the surgical field during laparoscopic gastrectomy (LG) and its disorders cause severe postoperative complications. This study aimed to evaluate the association between the anatomical location of the pancreas and surgical outcome and to investigate the optimal surgical position in LG.

METHODS

We newly defined the angle formed between the supra-pancreatic region and the root of the left gastric artery (LGA) as the pancreas-LGA angle (PLA). The association between PLA and surgical outcomes in 107 consecutive patients who underwent laparoscopic distal gastrectomy (LDG) was investigated. Then, the change in PLA before and after insertion of the back pillow in 30 patients with gastric cancer was examined.

RESULTS

The median PLA was 62° (range, 2°-157°). No differences were found in the patient background between patients with small PLA (PLA < 62°; n = 53) and those with large PLA (PLA ≧ 62°; n = 54). The postoperative inflammation response (white blood cells, neutrophils, and C-reactive protein) and amylase concentration in the drainage fluid (D-AMY) were significantly higher in the small PLA group than large PLA group. Multivariable analyses demonstrated that small PLA was an independent risk factor for high D-AMY. After insertion of a back pillow, PLA was noninvasively increased in all patients, and the median PLA was changed to 92° (range, 8°-151°) from 61° (range, 2°-140°). Of 17 patients with small PLA, nine developed large PLA.

CONCLUSIONS

These results suggest that PLA can become one of the indicators of postoperative complications related to anatomical patient factors in LDG.