Preservation of the pyloric ring confers little benefit in patients undergoing total pancreatectomy

Background: The clinical significance of preservation of the pyloric ring in total pancreatectomy (TP) has not been elucidated. Methods: A total of 48 consecutive patients underwent TP and were categorized into two groups based on the absence or presence of pylorus resection: the TP (N = 33) and pylorus-preserving TP (PPTP) (N = 15) groups. Preoperative patient background, intraoperative conditions, postoperative complications, and long-term nutritional status were retrospectively compared between the two groups. Results: Patient background was similar between the groups, with the exception of the prevalence of preoperative diabetes mellitus (55 and 20 %, respectively; p = 0.021). There were no differences between groups with respect to operative times, blood loss, or blood transfusion. The PPTP group was more likely to have postoperative delayed gastric emptying than was the TP group (53 and 21 %, respectively; p = 0.029), and it tended to become increasingly severe. The length of the postoperative fasting period was significantly longer in the PPTP group than in the TP group (mean 15 ± standard deviation [SD] 10.8 and 9 ± 9.7 days, respectively; p = 0.023). The body weights in the TP group started to recover by 1 year postoperatively, whereas those in the PPTP group continued to decrease. Serum hemoglobin levels tended to be higher in the TP group than in the PPTP group at 1 year postoperatively. Conclusions: Preservation of the pyloric ring provided little or no benefit to short-term outcome or long-term nutritional status among patients who underwent TP.