Pancreatectomy with arterial resection for periampullary cancer: outcomes after planned or unplanned events in a nationwide, multicentre cohort.

Arterial resections in pancreatic surgery may be planned to obtain a radical oncological resection, or unplanned after iatrogenic injury during dissection. Most data on planned arterial resection come from single, very-high-volume centres and suggest that these resections might be feasible and even beneficial after preoperative chemotherapy in highly selected patients with pancreatic cancer1–3. However, real-world data on such planned and unplanned arterial resection at a nationwide level are scarce4. Furthermore, distinctions between planned and unplanned arterial resection are seldomly reported, even though this might have clinical implications5,6. The present study evaluated the incidence and surgical outcome of all planned and unplanned arterial resections for pancreatic and periampullary cancer in The Netherlands. The study protocol was approved by the scientific committee of the Dutch Pancreatic Cancer Group. Fifteen of 16 hospitals affiliated to the Dutch Pancreatic Cancer Group participated in this study; data were obtained from the mandatory Dutch Pancreatic Cancer Audit. Additional data were collected from local medical records.