A 72-year-old man develops jaundice and is demonstrated to have a 2.5 mass in the pancreatic head by computed tomography. There are no signs of unresectability on CT examination. Fine needle aspiration cytology is positive for adenocarcinoma. Which of the following intraoperative findings would indicate unresectability?
A. Fibrotic reaction in the body and tail of the pancreas
B. Microscopic tumor cells in perigastric lymph nodes on frozen section
C. Inability to develop an avascular plane anterior to the superior mesenteric vein
D. Cholelithiasis
Answer:B
A 72-year-old man develops jaundice and is demonstrated to have a 2.5 mass in the pancreatic head by computed tomography. There are no signs of unresectability on CT examination. Fine needle aspiration cytology is positive for adenocarcinoma. Which of the following intraoperative findings would indicate unresectability?
A. Fibrotic reaction in the body and tail of the pancreas B. Microscopic tumor cells in perigastric lymph nodes on frozen section C. Inability to develop an avascular plane anterior to the superior mesenteric vein D. Cholelithiasis