Autologous grafts for vascular resections after extended resections for locally advanced or borderline resectable pancreatic tumors

Abstract

Once the surgical techniques improved, vascular resections have been proposed in order to increase the radicality in borderline or locally advanced pancreatic cancer. Traditionally, vascular reconstructions in such cases have been performed by using synthetic grafts; however, these prostheses have been associated with significant complications such as infection, thrombosis or leaks, leading to a very difficult postoperative recovery. Therefore, attention was focused on replacing these artificial materials with biological ones such as cadaveric grafts, autologous grafts or even animal grafts. These grafts proved to be more efficient when it comes to the rates of perioperative complications, thrombosis, infection or leakage being more rarely reported. The aim of the current paper is to discuss about the most frequently used biological grafts.

Keywords

• locally advanced pancreatic cancer
• vascular resection
• cadaveric grafts
• autologous grafts
• bovine pericardium