COMPARISON BETWEEN PYLORUS-PRESERVING AND WHIPPLE PANCREATICODUODENECTOMY

Between 1989 and 1993, 62, patients underwent Whipple pancreatoduodene ctomy and 75 pylorus-preserving pancreatoduodenectomy (PPPD); 35 patie nts in the first group and 37 in the second had pancreatic adenocarcin oma while 17 and 21 patients respectively had periampullary adenocarci noma. The aim of this retrospective study was the comparison of operat ive outcome, nutritional recovery and survival of patients who underwe nt these two operations. No significant differences were found between the two groups in operative mortality or morbidity, duration of gastr ic aspiration and time to start of solid meals. Patients who underwent PPPD had a better nutritional recovery: the increase of both bodyweig ht and serum albumin level at 6 months after discharge was significant ly higher for those who had preservation of the whole stomach (P < 0.0 01 and P < 0.05 respectively). No significant difference in survival w as found between the two procedures when patients with pancreatic or p eriampullary adenocarcinoma were analysed separately.