Clinical Comparison of Spleen-Preserving Distal Pancreatectomy With or Without Splenic Vessel Preservation: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

OBJECTIVES: Spleen-preserving distal pancreatectomy with splenic vessel preservation (SVP) and only the save of short gastric and left gastroepiploic vessels called the Warshaw technique (WT) are the optimal procedures to resect benign or borderline malignant tumors of the left pancreas. The aim of this meta-analysis was to assess the intra- and postoperative outcomes between SVP and the WT.

METHODS: We searched studies that compared the intra- and postoperative outcomes between SVP and the WT from PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library (2004-2017). Dichotomous and continuous variables were calculated by the odds ratios and weighted mean differences with 95% confidence intervals.

RESULTS: Eighteen retrospective studies, including 1039 patients, were eligible for our analysis. Six hundred seventy-nine patients (65.4%) underwent SVP, and 360 patients (34.6%) underwent the WT. Although the estimated blood loss in patients undergoing the WT was less than that in those undergoing SVP (P < .00001), SVP had a lower incidence of clinically relevant postoperative pancreatic fistula (P = .03), splenic infarcts (P < .00001), intra- and postoperative splenectomies (P = .0009), and gastric varices (P < .00001) than the WT. In addition, the tumor size of patients who underwent SVP was smaller (P = .006).

CONCLUSIONS: Both SVP and the WT are feasible and effective surgical techniques. SVP should be given priority to reduce postoperative complications, and the WT should be regarded as a salvage operation to preserve the spleen based on the preoperative evaluation or in the case of uncontrolled bleeding during SVP.