Introduction: The reported experience with laparoscopic pancreatic surgery remains limited to case reports or small series of patients. A recent European multicenter study has allowed the limits and results of this technique to be known. This article presents an analysis of the results of the Spanish National Registry of Laparoscopic Pancreatic Surgery.
Material and methods: A total of 132 patients with lesions in the left pancreas were included in this series. The final diagnosis included 42 neuroendocrine tumors, 40 cystic neoplasms, 24 cysts and pseudocysts, 8 inflammatory tumors, 8 ductal carcinomas, 7 intraductal papillary mucinous tumors, 1 acinar carcinoma and 2 solid pseudopapillary tumors.
Results: The conversion rate was 9.7%. Tumor enucleation was performed only in patients with insulinomas. The most frequent technique was spleen-preserving distal pancreatectomy. There were no postoperative deaths. The overall rate of postoperative pancreatic-related complications was 16%.
Conclusions: Although only a few Spanish hospitals participated in the registry, a greater number of hospitals are expected to enroll patients in the very near future.