“Mesopancreas-first” radical resection of pancreatic head cancer following the Cattell–Braasch–Valdoni maneuver: Appreciating the legacy of pioneers in visceral surgery

The “artery-first” approach pancreaticoduodenectomy, with maximal mesopancreas excision and central vascular ligation, represents the current principal determinants of radicality in pancreatic head cancer resection. However, these modifications at the resection stage of pancreaticoduodenectomy constitute extremely demanding and technically complicated procedures. Among the most critical contributing factors in the difficulty of artery-first approaches is the spiral configuration of the mesoduodenum and proximal mesojejunum around the superior mesenteric artery axis. This creates complicated tridimensional anatomy, making surgical dissection in the inferior peripancreatic anatomic area extremely challenging and demanding. The Cattell–Braasch–Valdoni maneuver (right-sided medial visceral mobilization and intestinal derotation maneuver) restores the embryological twist of the duodenojejunal junction, which demystifies the distorted peripancreatic vascular anatomy and facilitates a safe and radical “mesopancreas-first” pancreatic head cancer resection. The aim of this paper was to present the advantages, efficacy, and safety of the Cattell–Braasch–Valdoni maneuver in artery-first approach radical pancreaticoduodenectomy and provide a detailed description of its surgical technique.