2017 Volume 53 Issue 4 Pages 938-943
A 12-year-old girl presented to a physician with the complaint of left-upper-quadrant pain. Abdominal ultrasonography showed a round mass in the tail of the pancreas, and she was referred to our department. Enhanced computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed an encapsulated, heterogeneous solid mass measuring 40 mm in diameter in the distal part of the pancreas. She was diagnosed as having solid-pseudopapillary neoplasm (SPN) of the pancreas. Laparoscopic spleen-preserving distal pancreatectomy with conservation of splenic vessels was performed. She resumed oral intake in POD2. Postoperative pancreatic fistula (International Study Group of Pancreatic Fistula; Grade B) occurred and was treated conservatively. The functional and aesthetic results were satisfactory, and no recurrence was found on MRI one year after surgery. A pair of 3 mm forceps was useful and enabled meticulous handling, such as dividing the splenic vessels from the pancreatic substance. The laparoscopic spleen-preserving distal pancreatectomy is minimally invasive and safe for benign or low-grade malignant tumors of the distal pancreas in children.
