New technique for pancreaticojejunostomy using a biological adhesive.

A new technique of pancreaticojejunostomy using a fibrin glue biological adhesive system (BAS) after pancreaticoduodenectomy is reported. Pancreaticojejunostomy was performed on 112 patients between 1971 and 1985. Forty-two of the patients received BAS application (Group I), but the remaining seventy did not (Group II). To evaluate more precisely the effectiveness of BAS, 22 patients in Group I (Group I–ST) and 26 patients in Group II (Group II–ST) who were operated upon by the same surgeon during the same period were reviewed retrospectively. The selection of patients for the use of BAS was randomized. In Group I–ST, one patient had a minor leak; no major leaks or operative deaths occurred. Two of the twenty-six patients in Group II–ST had minor leaks and one patient had a major leak causing death. This new technique for pancreaticojejunostomy using a biological adhesive system may be useful for preventing anastomotic leaks, especially in a patient with a normal pancreas.