Short- and long-term outcomes after enucleation of pancreatic tumors: An evidence-based assessment.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Enucleation of pancreatic tumors is rarely performed. The aim of this study was to evaluate the published evidence for its short- and long-term outcomes.

METHODS: PubMed (MEDLINE) and EMBASE databases were searched from 1990 to March 2016. Studies including at least ten patients who underwent enucleation of pancreatic lesions were included. Data on the outcomes were synthesized and meta-analyzed where appropriate.

RESULTS: Twenty-seven studies involving 1316 patients were included in the systematic review. The postoperative mortality was 0.3%, and the postoperative morbidity was 50.3%, mainly represented by pancreatic fistula (38.1%). Endocrine insufficiency, exocrine insufficiency and tumor recurrence was observed in 2.4%, 1.1% and 2.3% of the patients respectively. Compared with typical resection, the operation time, blood loss, length of hospital stay, and the incidence of endocrine and exocrine insufficiency were all significantly reduced after enucleation. The occurrence of pancreatic fistula was significantly higher in enucleation group, but overall morbidity, the reoperation rate and mortality were comparable between the two groups. There was no significant difference in disease recurrence between the two groups. Compared with central pancreatectomy, enucleation had a shorter operation time, lower blood loss, less morbidity, and better pancreatic function. Compared with open enucleation, minimally invasive enucleation had a shorter operation time and a shorter length of hospital stay.

CONCLUSIONS: Enucleation is an appropriate surgical procedure in selected patients with benign or low-malignant lesions of the pancreas. The benefits of minimally invasive approach need to be validated in further investigations with larger groups of patients.