Blood loss in laparoscopic distal pancreatectomy could be underestimated

Abstract

The development of laparoscopic pancreatectomy has been slow because of the difficulty of the procedure, but progress has recently been made. In particular, distal pancreatectomy (DP), laparoscopic surgery is becoming the standard. [1][2][3][4] Two randomized controlled trials comparing laparoscopic DP (LDP) and ODP (ODP) have shown that blood loss (BL) is lower in LDP than in ODP. 5,6 Several reports have also indicated that BL is lower in laparoscopic than open surgery in other organs. [7][8][9] However, there are concerns about hidden BL. Hidden BL is a concept that was developed in orthopedic surgery, but it is also relevant in gynecological surgery. [10][11][12][13] Several estimation formulas have been established to predict BL