Advantage of pancreaticogastrostomy in detecting recurrent intraductal papillary mucinous carcinoma in the remnant pancreas: A case of successful re-resection after pancreaticoduodenectomy

Recently there has been an increase in the number of case reports detailing the recurrence of cancer in the pancreatic remnants following surgical resection of intraductal papillary mucinous carcinoma (IPMC) of the pancreas. A case is presented here to indicate the advantage of pancreaticogastrostomy (PG) in terms of postoperative follow-up after pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) for IPMC. A 68-year-old man underwent PD for IPMC of the pancreatic head, and the cut margin of the pancreatic duct was diagnosed as having no cancer but moderately dysplastic epithelium by an intraoperative frozen section of histology. Thus, we decided to proceed with a PG rather than pancreaticojejunostomy (PJ) in order to facilitate easier postoperative examinations. Eight years and 6 months later, during a routine follow-up examination, duct dilation of the remnant pancreas was detected by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Upon examination by endoscopic gastroscopy, the anastomotic site was found to be covered with a large amount of mucin from which we easily obtained both cytologic and biopsied specimens, which subsequently proved positive for cancer. In line with our diagnosis of recurrent IPMC, the patient underwent a second surgery (resection of the remnant pancreas, total pancreatectomy) and postoperative histology confirmed that indeed the patient had experienced recurrent IPMC with no nodal involvement or invasion beyond the pancreatic confines. Based on this experience, we decided to recommend PG for all patients deemed to be at high risk for the recurrence of cancer in the pancreatic remnants following PD for IPMC of the pancreatic head.