Parenchyma-Sparing Pancreatectomy for Benign Pancreatic Neoplasms

The current literature suggests that minimally invasive surgery is associated with faster recovery and less morbidity than open surgery. Parenchyma-sparing pancreatectomy is minimally invasive surgery, including enucleation, inferior head pancreatectomy, spleen-preserving distal pancreatectomy, and central pancreatectomy, combined pancreatectomy such as inferior head pancreatectomy plus spleen-preserving distal pancreatectomy, and subtotal distal pancreatectomy (spleen-preserving). Parenchyma-sparing pancreatic resection is mainly used for benign neoplasms, including intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm (IPMN), mucinous cystadenoma, serous cystadenoma, and small sized neuroendocrine tumors including insulinoma. Parenchyma-sparing pancreatectomy can be applied for benign pancreatic lesions. Assistance with pancreatic stenting and/or laparoscopy is recommended in some cases to prevent from complications. Recent advancements of surgical techniques have allowed us to perform several types of parenchyma-sparing pancreatic resection.