The middle pancreatic resection for benign pathology of the pancreas has been proposed as an advantageous alternative to the distal pancreatectomy, even though the risk of complications is greater. The purpose of the present study is to compare the cost and intra and perioperative impact for the 2 procedures. All patients with benign neoplasia of the body and tail of the pancreas operated on from 1990-1999 were selected from our computer archives, 21 patients underwent an intermediate resection and 64 a distal pancreatectomy. Operative time, units transfused, perioperative complications, post-operative stay and cost were compared. Statistical analysis revealed that the 2 operations are not significantly different in the intra-operative period. Comparing serious complications, the percentage of pancreatic fistulas (33% vs. 11%; P < 0.03) and average hospital stay (21.2 +/- 11.7 days vs. 15.5 +/- 7.1 days; p = 0.009) are greater for the middle than distal resection, respectively. In cases with post-operative complications the hospital stay is even more significant (middle 31.8 +/- 10.3 days vs. 19.1 +/- 7.6 days; p = 0.0002). The economic margin of residual costs, calculated by using the difference of DRG (no 192) and average post-operative costs, is similar for the 2 procedures in cases with normal post-operative courses, (intermediate Euro 2890.02; distal Euro 3181.9), while in cases with complications (DRG no 191), the difference increases (intermediate Euro 8670.11; distal Euro 12788.94). The middle pancreatic resection in respect to the distal pancreatectomy presents a greater technical difficulty when you take into account the longer post-operative course, the increased difficulty in treating complications and the increased costs.