Pancreatoduodenectomy in Patient With Von Hippel-Lindau Disease: A Literature Review

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The von Hippel-Lindau disease is a highly penetrant autosomal dominant syndrome characterized by tumor predisposition in different organs. AIM: This study aimed to describe a case of a pancreatoduodenectomy for a 30-year-old male patient with von Hippel-Lindau disease. METHODS: We present a case study and the literature review aiming at the state-of-the-art management of a patient with pheochromocytoma, capillary hemangioblastoma in the peripheral retina, and two neuroendocrine tumors in the pancreas. RESULTS: A larger pancreatic lesion was located in the uncinate process, measuring 31 mm. The smaller lesion was located in the proximal pancreas and was detected only on the positron emission tomography-computed tomography scan with DOTATOC-68Ga. Genetic investigation revealed a mutation in the locus NM_000551.3 c.482G>A (p.Arg161Gln) of the Von Hippel-Lindau Human Suppressor gene. The uncinate process tumor was larger than 30 mm and the patient had a mutation on exon 3; therefore, we indicated a pancreatoduodenectomy involving the proximal pancreas to resect both tumors en bloc. During the postoperative period, the patient presented a peripancreatic fluid collection, which was treated as a grade B pancreatic fistula with clinical resolution of the complication. On postoperative day 21, he was discharged home. CONCLUSION: The management of patients with von Hippel-Lindau disease and pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors is complex and must be centered on tertiary institutions with a large volume of pancreatic surgery. Although the current literature assists in decision-making in most situations, each step of the treatment requires analysis and discussion between different medical specialties, including surgeons, clinicians, radiologists, and anesthesiologists.