Ten-Year Experience With 733 Pancreatic Resections

Abstract

HISTORICALLY, operative resection of the pancreas was generally regarded with skepticism. This led to the recommendation by some surgeons that procedures such as pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) be abandoned altogether.^1,2 During the past 20 years, however, pancreatic resection has gained increasing acceptance as an effective and safe method of treating malignant and benign diseases of the pancreas.^3-8 Whereas some community-based centers of excellence have obtained very good results with pancreatic resection,⁹ most advances in operative technique and perioperative care of these challenging patients have been made in referral-based regional academic centers.^10-12