Improved perioperative outcomes of laparoscopic distal pancreatosplenectomy: modified lasso technique

Background Simultaneous division of the splenic artery, splenic vein and pancreatic parenchyma during laparoscopic distal pancreatosplenectomy (LDPS) is known as the lasso technique, which is considered to be simple to perform. However, the original lasso technique carries a risk of post‐operative bleeding from the splenic artery. We modified the original lasso technique to improve its technical safety and compared the perioperative outcomes of LDPS performed with the modified lasso technique (ml‐LDPS) with those of conventional LDPS (c‐LDPS). Methods From August 2006 to July 2016, 30 patients underwent c‐LDPS and 31 patients underwent ml‐LDPS for distal pancreatectomy involving <50% of the pancreas. The perioperative outcomes of the two groups were compared. Results The ml‐LDPS technique resulted in a shorter operation time (201 min versus 162 min, P < 0.01), less intraoperative blood loss (20 mL versus 200 mL, P < 0.01), a shorter post‐operative hospital stay (8.0 days versus 12.5 days, P < 0.01), and a lower incidence of clinically relevant post‐operative pancreatic fistulas (6.5% versus 26.7%, P = 0.04) compared with c‐LDPS. The surgical approach (c‐LDPS or ml‐LDPS) was identified as an independent predictor of the development of clinically relevant post‐operative pancreatic fistulas via multivariate analysis. Conclusion The ml‐LDPS method had beneficial effects on the operation time, intraoperative bleeding, the post‐operative morbidity rate and the length of the post‐operative hospital stay. The ml‐LDPS procedure is a simple, safe and effective way of performing planned LDPS.