Drain management after pancreatic resection: state of the art

Background Placement of intraperitoneal drain (ID) after abdominal surgery is a common practice. Postoperative pancreatic fistula (POPF), incidence of which ranges from 2% to more than 30%, represents the most common major complication after pancreatic resection. The goal of this paper is to review the state of the art in ID management after pancreatic resection. Methods Data from randomized controlled trials (RCT) are reported together with data from our institution in the period before and after the start of the two reported RCTs. Results One thousand five hundred eighty patients underwent surgical resection for pancreatic lesions at our institution from 1990 to 2010. The overall rate of POPF was 23% before and 19.5% after (P = 0.24) the performance of the RCTs. Both postoperative morbidity and average in-hospital stay were higher in the period before the RCTs (13.6 +/- A 11.4 versus 13.4 +/- A 10.3 days, respectively). Conclusions POPF is a complex and multifactorial complication after pancreatic surgery. On the basis of the present results and review of the RCTs, the value of ID and its management after pancreatic surgery remain unclear.