title: Outcome after duodenum-preserving pancreatic head resection is improved compared with classic Whipple procedure in the treatment of chronic pancreatitis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There is no consensus in the surgical management of chronic pancreatitis (cP) as to whether techniques preserving the duodenum are superior to pancreatoduodenectomy. This prospective study compared the outcome of standard pancreatoduodenectomy (PD) and duodenum-preserving pancreatic head resection (DPPHR) in treatment of selected patients with cP.
  
  
  METHODS
  Inclusion criteria for this prospective controlled, nonrandomized study were patients suffering from cP centered in the head and with severe pain. Seventy consecutive patients underwent DPPHR (n = 38) or, if there was suspicion of malignancy, classic PD (n = 32). A multidimensional, psychometric questionnaire was used to measure the quality of life (QoL). QoL was compared with that of the general German population. Pain intensity was evaluated on the basis of the frequency of pain attacks, analgesic medication, and self-assessed pain score. Assessment of endocrine and exocrine function as well as nutritional status included oral glucose tolerance test, fecal elastase, stool frequency, and body mass index. The median follow-up was 34 months.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Multiple clinical characteristics did not differ between the two groups except for age (P =.04), the tumor marker carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (P =.02), and the parameter suspicion of malignancy. There was no hospital mortality. Surgical morbidity was 19% in the PD group and 8% in the DPPHR group (P =.60). PD resulted in a longer median hospital stay than DPPHR (19 vs 15 days, P =.04). Complications of adjacent organs were definitively treated in 100% after PD and in 97% after DPPHR. Postoperative pain intensity as self-assessed by the patients was significantly less in the DPPHR group (P <.001), whereas the frequency of acute episodes (P =.27) and analgesic medication (P =.43) did not differ between the two groups. After surgery, symptom and functional scales of the DPPHR group were significantly better than those in the PD group and were similar to those of the overall German population. No significant difference was found between the two groups with regard to endocrine and exocrine function. Postoperative increase of body mass index was significantly higher in the DPPHR group (P <.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  DPPHR provides better results in the treatment of cP than PD in terms of QoL, pain intensity as self-assessed by the patients, nutritional status, and length of hospital stay.
authors.affiliation: Department of Abdominal, Transplantation, and Vascular Surgery, University of Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Helmut
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Witzigmann
authors.forename: Doris
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Max
authors.forename: Dirk
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Uhlmann
authors.forename: Felix
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Geissler
authors.forename: Reinhold
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Schwarz
authors.forename: Stephan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ludwig
authors.forename: Tobias
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lohmann
authors.forename: Karel
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Caca
authors.forename: Volker
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Keim
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tannapfel
authors.forename: Johann
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hauss
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010147:Pain Measurement; D010179:Pancreas / Q000503:physiopathology; D010180:Pancreatectomy / Q000379:methods*; D016577:Pancreaticoduodenectomy; D010195:Pancreatitis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life