Utilizing bifurcated allogeneic vein grafts: a novel approach for preventing sinistral portal hypertension following pancreaticoduodenectomy. A 10-year before and after study.

BACKGROUND

Sinistral portal hypertension (SPH) may occur in patients with pancreatic carcinoma after pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) with spleno-mesenterico-portal (S-M-P) confluence resection. This study aimed to evaluate outcomes with bifurcated allogeneic vein replacement in the prevention of SPH in pancreatic carcinoma patients.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A total of 81 patients were included. The authors retrospectively collected clinicopathological data from 66 patients underwent PD with S-M-P confluence resection in our hospital from January 2011 to December 2021, compared the correlation between different venous reconstruction methods using log-rank tests and clinical outcomes through univariate and multivariate analyses. Secondly, the authors prospectively collected clinical data and outcomes of 15 patients who underwent splenic vein reconstruction from January 2021 to January 2023.

RESULTS

In the retrospective study, 43 cases received reconstruction by bifurcated allogeneic vein (Reconstruction group) and 23 cases received simply SV ligation (Ligation group). The preoperative platelet counts and spleen volume were similar between two groups ( P >0.05). Nevertheless, at 1 month, 3 months and 6 months after operation, the related indexes of SPH such as platelet count, spleen volume, spleen volume ratio and esophagogastric varices (EGV) grade in Reconstruction group were better than those in Ligation group ( P <0.05). 6 months after surgery, the incidence of SPH in Ligation group was significantly higher than in Reconstruction group (36.4% vs. 8.1%, respectively). In the prospective study, the incidence of SPH in patients undergoing SV reconstruction was 6.7% (1/15).

CONCLUSIONS

Without compromising surgical outcomes, reconstruction of the S-M-P confluence by bifurcated allogeneic vein is a better method to avoid SPH in patients with advanced pancreatic carcinoma.