Laparoscopic Distal Pancreatectomy: Evolution of a Technique at a Single Institution

BACKGROUND: The pancreas remains an organ for which routine laparoscopic resection is uncommon. STUDY DESIGN: This is a review of all distal pancreatectomies performed between January 2003 and December 2009 at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Variables were compared between laparoscopic and open groups in unmatched and matched analyses. RESULTS: During the 7-year study period, 343 distal pancreatectomies were performed; 107 (31%) were...