A non-randomized comparative study of laparoscopy-assisted pancreaticoduodenectomy and open pancreaticoduodenectomy.

BACKGROUND/AIMS Laparoscopic surgery for periampullary disease is still a challenging operation. The aim of this study was to compare the perioperative outcomes of patients undergoing conventional pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) with the outcomes of those undergoing laparoscopy-assisted PD. METHODOLOGY A retrospective analysis was conducted on 51 consecutive patients who underwent laparoscopy-assisted or open PD for periampullary disease. RESULTS There were no significant differences in the preoperative demographic or clinical data of the two study groups. Although there were no significant differences in the operative time between the two study groups, blood loss in the laparoscopy-assisted PD group was significantly smaller than that in the open PD group. There were no significant differences in the occurrence of postoperative complications between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS Laparoscopy-assisted PD is a feasible and safe surgical procedure that provides the advantages expected from a minimally invasive surgery including less blood loss.