Distal Pancreatectomy with Celiac Axis Resection (Modified Appleby Procedure) and Arterial Reconstruction for Locally Advanced Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma After FOLFIRINOX Chemotherapy and Chemoradiation Therapy

Background Resectability of pancreatic carcinoma (PC) is directly linked to vascular extension (Tempero MA et al. in J Natl Compr Canc Netw 15(8):1028–1061, 2017. https://doi.org/10.6004/jnccn.2017.0131 ; Isaji S et al. in Pancreatology 18(1):2–11, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pan.2017.11.011 ). Involvement of the celiac axis (CA) is typically a contraindication to surgery. High postoperative morbidity and subsequent poor prognosis have been observed in this case, especially for contact > 180° requiring arterial resection (Tempero MA et al. 2017). Recent medical advances in PC treatment, such as FOLFIRINOX-based chemotherapy eventually followed by chemoradiation therapy, offer the potential to select tumour for surgery and to obtain a negative-margin resection even in case of unresectable PC at diagnosis (Suker M et al. in Lancet Oncol 17(6):801–10, 2016. https://doi.org/10.1016/s1470-2045(16)00172-8 ; Pietrasz D et al. in Ann Surg Oncol 26(1):109–117, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1245/s10434-018-6931-6 ). A major pathologic response has been observed in more than 20% of patients after this treatment and is associated with an improved survival (Suker M et al. 2016; Pietrasz D et al. 2019). This evolution allows aggressive surgical strategies with the possibility of long-term disease control for patients showing a good response to induction treatment. Patient This video presents the case of a 66-year-old man diagnosed with a locally advanced ductal adenocarcinoma of the pancreatic body with a 360° involvement of the CA and the hepatic artery. After eight courses of FOLFIRINOX chemotherapy and a capecitabin-based chemoradiation, a surgical exploration was planned for potential resection. Technique The key steps of the procedure are presented, i.e. surgical exposition, assessment of resectability with frozen sections of peri-arterial tissues, en bloc resection (Strasberg SM et al. in Surgery 133(5):521–527, 2003. https://doi.org/10.1067/msy.2003.146 ), and primary end-to-end arterial reconstruction. Conclusion A modified Appleby operation for locally advanced PC is a technically challenging but feasible procedure in experienced teams. It offers the possibility of en bloc R0 resection of a locally advanced PC with the potential of long-term disease local control. This video may help surgeons to perform this complex intervention.