


  • 1629
  • 2019-03-14

Robotic distal pancreatectomy with splenectomy

Epublication WebSurg.com, Mar 2019;19(03). URL:
This is the case of a 73-year-old asymptomatic female patient who presented with an incidental pancreatic lesion on CT-scan. Her previous medical history was relevant for systemic lupus erythematosus. On the CT-scan, a single hypervascular lesion in the arterial phase was identified in the distal pancreas. The lesion size was 3.1 by 3.3 by 4.3cm. Neither suspicious nodes nor distant metastases were found. The patient was considered to be ASA2 and ECOG0. The patient was placed in a reverse Trendelenburg position. A 12mm port was placed in the umbilicus for the camera, and three 8mm ports were inserted to accommodate the robotic arms, and another 12mm auxiliary port was used. The greater curvature of the stomach was released from the transverse colon to expose the supramesocolic area. The neck of the pancreas was dissected close to the splenic-mesenteric confluence. The inferior mesenteric vein opening to the splenic vein was identified, clipped and cut. The splenic artery was dissected, clipped and cut close to the celiac trunk. A stapler was placed in the neck of the pancreas and it was safely stapled. The splenic vein was dissected close to the confluence, and then clipped and cut. The distal pancreas and splenic ligaments were cut and . detached. The specimen was removed using a Pfannenstiel’s incision. The duration of the procedure was 255 minutes. The estimated blood loss was 100mL. The patient was discharged on postoperative day 5 and no complication was observed over a period of 90 days. Pathology confirmed the presence of a neuroendocrine tumor (grade 2) as a 4cm single lesion and negative margins. One positive node was detected among 10 nodes harvested.