Is the Lateral Decubitus Position Safe and Easy for Laparoscopic Distal Pancreatectomy?

Aims: In this study, we compared the results of laparoscopic distal pancreatic surgery performed in the classical supine position and lateral decubitus position.
Study Design: Retrospective cohort study.
Place and Duration of Study: The files of 12 patients who underwent laparoscopic distal pancreatectomy in the General Surgery Clinic of our hospital between January 2017 and June 2020 were found by scanning the electronic file system of the hospital.
Methodology: Patients who underwent open surgery and whose data were not available, who had distant metastases, had a history of surgery due to other malignancies and those younger than 18 years were excluded from the study. All data were collected by the data collection assistant who was a general surgery and surgical oncology specialist. Clinicopathological records, inpatient treatment epicrisis, radiological examination reports, pathology reports and demographic information of the patients were reviewed.
Results: LDP was applied to 9 (75%) patients and LDP + splenectomy procedure was applied to 3 (25%) patients. Postoperative complications were seen in 2 (12.6%) patients. The average operation time was 199.58 minutes. The amount of perioperative bleeding was 111.25 ml. The average length of stay in the hospital is 5.83 ± 0.6 days. All of the patients are alive and the mean survival time is 16.91 ± 2.38 months, with no recurrence.
Conclusion: We think that LP provides a significant advantage to the surgeon, since it provides a better viewing angle and facilitates colon mobilization and stomach retraction. This argument can be supported by more patient numbers and studies.