Pledgeted Pancreaticoduodenectomy for Patients with Soft Pancreas

Lucas W. Thornblade, MD, MPH; Venu G. Pillarisetty, MD

Product Details
Product ID: ACS-5631
Year Produced: 2018
Length: 9 min.


A 54 year old female presented with a non-obstructing mass within the pancreatic head which was revealed to be resectable pancreatic adenocarcinoma. She was taken for a pancreaticoduodenectomy. Intraoperatively, the pancreatic parenchyma was found to be soft and the pancreatic duct size was measured as 3mm. Given the risk of leak from pancreaticojejunostomy performed on soft glands with small ducts, we employed a technique using PTFE pledgets on the inner layer duct-to-mucosa sutures of the pancreatic anastomosis. The patient recovered from the operation without any complications or evidence of a pancreatic duct leak. She was discharged to home by post-operative day 6.