New surgical approaches to pancreas transplantation

Introduction. The main controversial technical issues of pancreas transplantation are kinds of diverting pancreatic secret from the transplanted organ, as well as methods of its arterial reconstruction to ensure adequate and full blood supply of the graft. The article describes our experience in introducing two new technical variants of pancreas transplantation into clinical practice: with stump-free duodenal drainage and with its isolated blood supply by the splenic artery. Materials and methods. Our proposed operation with stump-free duodenal drainage of pancreatic secret using the button-technique method allows to minimize complications caused by duodenal injury and to reduce the antigenic load. The hardware method of forming the intestinal anastomosis allows to create a uniform compression along the line of anastomosis, provides strength and tightness of the seam, accurate tissue comparison, and the ability to adjust the closure of the brackets contributes to reliable hemostasis of tissues of different thickness.Results and discussion. The modified technique of pancreas transplantation with isolated blood supply through the splenic artery can be used both when it is impossible to perform the generally accepted arterial reconstruction of the graft, and as a routine procedure, since adequate and sufficient hemoperfusion of all pancreatoduodenal graft’s parts with its isolated blood supply through the splenic artery is justified and possible due to the presence of a developed system of collaterals between the splenic and superior mesenteric arteries.

Extrahepatic bile duct injury caused by a horse kicking injury

A 35-year-old man presented to a regional hospital after being kicked by a horse in the right upper quadrant. He was transferred to our hepatobiliary unit with bile peritonitis 8 days post trauma. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy and intraoperative cholangiography were performed, demonstrating distal common bile duct (CBD) obstruction with contrast extravasation from the distal duct. The CBD was drained with a T-tube via laparotomy. On postoperative day 14, T-tube cholangiography demonstrated no extravasation of contrast from the distal CBD and minor stricturing with eventual duodenal drainage. The T-tube was clamped and 5 weeks later, the patient represented with peri-T-tube bile leakage and right upper quadrant pain. A T-tube cholangiogram confirmed a complex distal CBD stricture. Two attempts at ERCP with intent of stenting the stricture were unsuccessful. The patient underwent an end to side Roux-en-Y choledochojejunostomy and was discharged home 4 days postoperatively on simple analgesia.