History of pancreatic surgery in Japan: Respect to the Japanese pioneers of pancreatic surgery

The first report of pancreatoduodenectomy was the abstract of Japan Surgical Society in 1946 by Kuru, followed by a publication by Yoshioka (Geka, 1950). The first report of total pancreatectomy was done by Honjo in 1950 (Shujutsu). Thus, the history of pancreatic surgery in Japan dawned in the 1950s. From 1970 to 1980, the American surgeon Fortner had reported the drastic concept of regional pancreatectomy with extensive dissection of vessels and connective tissues around the pancreas. A lot of Japanese surgeons were influenced by this concept and attempted to perform the extensive surgery of pancreatic cancer, especially the Japanese pioneers who had investigated the clinical benefits of extensive surgery with dissection of nerve plexus and lymph nodes around the superior mesenteric artery. Then, Japanese surgeons had a great attention for limited resection of the pancreas for borderline malignancies, and Japan was the number one country for pancreatic surgery for all pancreatic diseases, from advanced pancreatic cancer to borderline malignancies. The next step for these pioneers was how to reduce morbidities after pancreatic surgery, especially pancreatoduodenectomy. Due to the effects of technical development, drain management, and nutritional consideration, the incidences of pancreatic fistula and delayed gastric emptying decreased dramatically in the past 10 years. Moreover, the development of chemotherapeutic drugs has provided a new era of conversion surgery, similar to esophageal surgery, and one should pay great attention to more aggressive surgery, including distal pancreatectomy with en bloc celiac axis resection (DP‐CAR). Thus, we have to inherit the passion and mentality of the Japanese pioneers of pancreatic surgery and develop safer and more secure surgical techniques to reduce the morbidities and elongate the survival of pancreatic cancer patients.