Laparoscopic distal pancreatectomy to treat solid pseudopapillary tumors in children: transition from open to laparoscopic approaches in suitable cases.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcomes of open and laparoscopic distal pancreatectomy (LDP) in the treatment of solid pseudopapillary tumors (SPT) in children.


METHODS
This was a retrospective study of 22 patients under 18 years of age who underwent a distal pancreatectomy for SPT between January 1995 and December 2012.


RESULTS
Fourteen patients and eight patients underwent LDP and open distal pancreatectomy (ODP), respectively, and 71.4 % of the LDP and 25.0 % of the ODP procedures were spleen-sparing operations. The median duration of surgery in the LDP group was shorter than that in the ODP group [175 (range 120-540) vs. 257 (range 200-305) min, p = 0.024]. There were no differences in postoperative complications. The LDP patients commenced oral intake earlier than the ODP patients [2.0 (range 1.0-7.0) vs. 4.0 (range 3.0-12.0) days, p = 0.010], and had an earlier discharge from hospital [7.0 (range 5.0-20.0) vs. 13.0 (range 7.0-22.0) days, p = 0.009].


CONCLUSIONS
LDP treatment for SPT in children is associated with a shorter hospitalization and a shorter time to oral intake compared to ODP. LDP is a safe and feasible option for SPT in select pediatric patients.
Division of Pediatric Surgery, Department of Surgery, Asan Medical Center, 88, East Building 10th Floor, Olympic-RO 43-GIL, Songpa-gu, Seoul, 138-736, Korea.
Jung-Man
JM
Namgoong
Dae-Yeon
DY
Kim
Seong-Chul
SC
Kim
Song-Cheol
SC
Kim
Ji-Hee
JH
Hwang
Ki-Byung
KB
Song
D002648:Child; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D006801:Humans; D010535:Laparoscopy / Q000379:methods*; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010180:Pancreatectomy / Q000379:methods*; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome