Preoperative ultrasound elastography for postoperative pancreatic fistula prediction after pancreatoduodenectomy: A prospective study

Postoperative pancreatic fistulas are the most frequent major complications after pancreatoduodenectomy. The soft pancreatic texture is a critical, independent risk factor for postoperative pancreatic fistulas after pancreatoduodenectomy. The current gold standard for postoperative pancreatic fistula risk evaluation consists of the surgeon's intraoperative palpation of the pancreatic texture and, thus, lacks objectivity. In this prospective study, we used ultrasound-based shear-wave elastography, image data analysis, and a fistula risk score calculator to correlate the stiffness of pancreatic tissue with the occurrence of clinically relevant postoperative pancreatic fistulas.

Source: Surgery - December 2, 2023 Category: Surgery Authors: Viktor H. von Ehrlich-Treuenst ätt, Michael Guenther, Matthias Ilmer, Mathilda M. Knoblauch, Dominik Koch, Dirk-Andre Clevert, Steffen Ormanns, Frederik Klauschen, Hanno Niess, Jan D‘Haese, Martin K. Angele, Jens Werner, Bernhard W. Renz Source Type: research