Objective: To investigate the procedure choice of palliative operation for carcinoma of the head of the pancreas (CHP).
Methods: The clinical data from 187 patients with CHP treated in the last 20 years were analyzed retrospectively.
Results: The operation mortality rate was 8.6%, the mortality of hepatic duct-jejunostomy (HDJS) was not higher than that of cholecystojejunostomy (CJS) (P>0.05). The postoperative relapse of jaundice and cholangitis was significantly lower than that of CJS (P<0.025), while the survival was apparently higher than that of CJS (P<0.01). The mortality of HJDS or CJS with gastrojejunostomy (GJS) was not significantly higher than that of the simple procedure without GJS (P>0.05), whereas the survival was significantly higher than that of the simple procedure without GJS (P<0.01). The occurrence of duodenal obstruction after HDJS or CJS was 29.3%.
Conclusion: As a palliative operation, Roux-en-Y choledochojejunostomy especially in combination with preventive gastrojejunostomy is strongly recommended.