Spleen Preservation in Laparoscopic Distal Pancreatectomy for Solitary Pseudopapillary Tumors Is Oncologic Safe

Pancreatic solid pseudopapillary neoplasm (SPN) is a rare tumor that is mostly benign, but a surgical resection is recommended. Pancreatic SPN has a relatively well-demarcated margin and lymph node metastases are rare. The prognosis of pancreatic SPN is relatively good. Therefore, minimally invasive surgery (MIS) is often available. When a distal pancreatectomy is performed for SPN located at the pancreatic body or tail, it is believed to preserve the spleen. MIS with preservation of spleen not only helps the patient recover after surgery, but also does not worsen the oncology results compared to open surgery with or without a splenectomy. Recently, robotic surgery has expanded gradually. Therefore, it is expected that MIS with spleen preservation will become more common for pancreatic SPN.