[Analysis of Pancreaticoduodenectomy for Elderly Patients Aged 75 Years or Older].

The feasibility of pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) for elderly patients is controversial. Of 51 patients with pancreatic or bile duct tumor who underwent PD (except portal vein resection), the surgical results of 27 elderly patients aged 75 years or older (elderly group) we retrospectively evaluated and compared with those of 24 patients younger than 75 years (younger group). Although ASA-PS was significantly higher in the elderly group, we did not observe any significant difference in other background characteristics, complications, or length of hospital stay between the two groups. This study suggests that PD is probably safe and feasible with the appropriate surgical indication for elderly patients.

[A case of partial hepatectomy and gastrectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma with direct invasion to the stomach].

An 81-year-old man treated with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV)-related hepatitis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) was diagnosed in 2010 with HCC recurrence (subclass S2) on computed tomography (CT). He refused surgery and was followed up without treatment. In 2012, he was admitted to our hospital because of hematemesis. Gastrointestinal endoscopy revealed a large tumor in the upper gastric corpus, and pathological examination of the tumor revealed HCC; hence, we diagnosed the patient with direct HCC invasion to the stomach. Although active bleeding from the tumor was controlled, he experienced repeated episodes of hematemesis, and the tumor increased in size. Therefore, partial hepatectomy and gastrectomy were performed. It was confirmed that the tumor invaded the stomach wall. Although surgery was effective for gastrointestinal bleeding caused by HCC invasion, the patient died 12 months after surgery because of multiple liver metastases and exacerbated liver failure.

[Analysis of portal vein resection during pancreaticoduodenectomy in patients with pancreatic cancer].

The feasibility of portal vein resection (PVR) during pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) for cancer of the pancreatic head is controversial. We retrospectively evaluate the surgical results and prognosis of 26 patients with pancreatic cancer who received PD with PVR (PVR group, n=14) or without PVR (non-PVR group, n=12). The operation time was significantly greater in the PVR group, with a mean time of 13.6 ± 2.4 minutes. There were no differences between the PVR and non-PVR groups in the incidence of complications or the number of days in hospital. In the PVR group, 7 patients were histopathologically diagnosed with portal vein invasion (PV), but there was no difference in the postoperative survival between PV negative and positive patients. PVR during PD appears to be a safe and feasible treatment for appropriate stage pancreatic cancer patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy.