Two cases of pararenal artery aortic aneurysm treatment after pancreaticoduodenectomy and abdominal aortic aneurysm stent grafting

TL;DR

This paper reports two cases of aortic aneurysm treatment after pancreatic surgery, highlighting the risks of acute pancreatitis and the importance of avoiding pancreatic manipulation during aortic surgery.

Contribution

The paper presents two rare clinical cases and emphasizes surgical strategies to avoid complications after pancreaticoduodenectomy.

Findings

Acute pancreatitis occurred after aortic surgery due to pancreatic manipulation in one patient.

Avoiding pancreatic area manipulation in the second case led to successful outcomes.

Hematuria and ureteral cancer were diagnosed and treated after EVAR in the second case.

Abstract

Acute pancreatitis caused by surgical procedures may occur less frequently in surgeries for aortic aneurysm involving the abdominal branch. However, in such cases, the associated mortality rate increases significantly. There have been few reports on abdominal aortic aneurysm surgery after pancreatoduodenectomy; as such the incidence of postoperative pancreatitis remains unclear.

Two cases of pararenal artery aortic aneurysm after pancreaticoduodenectomy and endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) for an abdominal aortic aneurysm are reported. In the first case, a 74-year-old man was diagnosed with abdominal aortic aneurysm and duodenal cancer 6 years earlier and underwent pancreaticoduodenectomy after EVAR. Subsequently, the abdominal aorta expanded to 58 mm at the level of the renal artery proximal to the EVAR site. Graft replacement was performed through a left thoraco-retroperitoneal incision. However, the patient died from acute pancreatitis, believed to be caused by intraoperative manipulation. Given this initial experience, in the second case, a 77-year-old man had undergone a pancreaticoduodenectomy for a gastrointestinal stromal tumor 17 years earlier and EVAR for an abdominal aortic aneurysm 10 years earlier. The abdominal aorta had expanded to 50 mm immediately below the right renal artery on the proximal side of the EVAR. Subsequently, hematuria was noted, and he was diagnosed with right ureteral cancer. Autologous transplantation of the left kidney and EVAR was performed avoiding manipulation of the area around the pancreas and achieved good results. Combined right renal and ureteral resections were performed 20 days after EVAR.

While performing aortic surgery after pancreaticoduodenectomy, surgeons should avoid manipulating tissues around the pancreas.

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