Conclusion
Considerable differences were shown in postoperative quality of life after laparoscopic compared with open distal pancreatectomy, with better results among the patients who had undergone laparoscopic resection. Of note, some of these differences persisted up to 2 years after surgery. These results strengthen the ongoing transition from open to minimally invasive pancreatic surgery for distal pancreatectomy. Registration number: ISRCTN26912858 (This was a long-term analysis of quality-of-life data after laparoscopic and open distal pancreatectomy based on the randomized clinical trial LAPOP. It was shown that the laparoscopic group had significantly better results in six quality-of-life domains over time. At the 2-year measurement, significant differences were shown in 3 domains and clinically relevant differences in 16 domains, with better results in the laparoscopic group.