Pancreaticoduodenectomy in adults with congenital intestinal rotation disorders

Congenital intestinal malrotation is a developmental anomaly resulting from interruption of the physiological herniation and return to the abdominal cavity of the midgut during the 6th to 10th week of embryological development. Normal vascular and anatomic relationships used as landmarks during pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) are altered in patients with congenital malrotation. We present 3 cases of PD in adults with congenital intestinal rotation disorders. Three adult patients with congenital rotational disorders required PD. Two of these patients had bilio-pancreatic tumors, and 1 cadaveric donor underwent total pancreatectomy during pancreas allograft procurement. All patients had arterial and venous anomalies around the celiac trunk and mesenteric vessels, respectively. The midgut and hindgut in each case were shifted toward opposite sides of the abdominal cavity. Modifications to the standard approach to PD were made, and outcomes were favorable in each case. Each patient showed anatomic abnormalities with the need for identifying vascular structures through their expected (or projected) course and location before parenchymal division or ligation of any vessel. This approach becomes crucial in cases of vascular anomalies, such as ones occurring in congenital malformations, and can be used in similar situations encountered during pancreaticoduodenectomy.