Surgical Approach and Length of Stay in Octogenarians Undergoing Pancreatic Resection for Malignancy

Introduction: Pancreatic surgery often has a lengthy recovery in the elderly. Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) can decrease length of stay (LOS), but it is unknown if this benefit applies to octogenarians (Age > 79). Methods: The NSQIP database was used to determine if MIS approaches were associated with reduced LOS among octogenarians undergoing pancreaticoduodenectomy (Whipple) or distal pancreatectomy (Distal). Operative approaches were classified as "Open" or "MIS" and propensity score (PS) matching was performed. Results: For the Whipple, 1665 Open and 101 MIS procedures occurred (median LOS 9, 8 days, p = 0.584). For Distal, 472 Open and 223 MIS procedures occurred (median LOS 6, 5 days, p < 0.01). After PS matching, there were 202 Whipple (101 per group) and 446 Distal (223 per group) patients. There was no difference in LOS by approach in the Whipple group (p = 0.546). The median LOS was 9 (IQR 7-15), Open and 8 (IQR 6-13), MIS. For Distal, there was a difference in LOS in the Open versus MIS approach (p < 0.01) and the median LOS was 6 (IQR 5-8) and 5 (IQR 4-6). Conclusions: Among octogenarians the MIS approach was associated with decreased LOS in distal pancreatectomies, but not in pancreaticoduodenectomies.