Palliative Surgical Treatment of Patients With Unresectable Cancer of the Head of the Pancreas Complicated by Mechanical Jaundice

Abstract

The aim: To improve the results of palliative surgical treatment of patients with unresectable cancer of the head of the pancreas, complicated by obstructive jaundice, disturbances of evacuation from the stomach, cancerous pancreatitis by improving surgical tactics and techniques of surgical interventions. Materials and methods: There were 277 patients with unresectable cancer of the head of the pancreas participated in the study, who were divided into control (n=159) and main (n=118) groups depending on treatment tactics. Results: The operation of choice in the surgical treatment of patients with unresectable cancer of the head of the pancreas, complicated by obturation of the biliary system and duodenum with a high surgical risk is endoscopic stenting of the bile ducts and duodenum with nitinol stents, which is accompanied by a decrease in the frequency of postoperative complications from 72.7 to 29.6% (χ2=5.8, 95% CI 8.26-65.39, p=0.01), mortality from 36.4% to 0.0% (χ2=10.69, 95% CI 11.8- 64.65, p=0.001). The patient’s formation of biliodigestive and prophylactic gastrodigestive anastomosis is an effective and safe procedure, which, in comparison with only biliodigestive shunting, reduces the frequency of postoperative complications by 16.2% (χ2=6.61, 95% CI 3.69-30.89, p=0.01), improves quality of life and prevents repeated surgical operations to restore evacuation from the stomach. Conclusions: The use of the proposed surgical tactics and technique of surgical interventions in patients with unresectable cancer of the head of the pancreas, complicated by obstructive jaundice, disturbances of evacuation from the stomach, cancerous pancreatitis made it possible to reduce the frequency of complications by 9.3% (χ2=3.94, 95% CI 0.09-17.86, p=0.04) and fatal cases by 5.8% (χ2=4.5, 95% CI 0.42-12.72, p=0.03).