Conventional One-surgeon Team (COST) Versus Two-attending Surgeons Approach (TASA) in Lymph Node Harvest in Patients Undergoing Pancreaticoduodenectomy for Cancer

Background/Aim: Adequate lymph node yield (LNY) is associated with improved relapse-free and overall survival in patients with cancer. In addition, the LNY is a part of complete histopathological diagnosis in cancer. There are several factors which contribute to adequate LNY in pancreatic cancer surgery. This study assessed LNY in conventional one-surgeon teamwork (COST) versus a two-attending surgeons approach (TASA) in patients undergoing pancreaticoduodenectomy for cancer. Patients and Methods: All consecutive patients undergoing pancreaticoduodenectomy for pancreatic cancer between 2008 and 2025 at Kuopio University Hospital were screened for eligibility and the final study cohort of 236 patients included 142 patients treated via COST and 94 by TASA. Data for both cohorts from a prospectively maintained institutional registry of Kuopio University Hospital included patient demographics, LNY, American Society of Anesthesiologists classification, Charlson Comorbidity Index, body mass index, operative details, and postoperative outcomes.