Abstract:Objective:To summarize the methods of diagnosis and results of surgical treatment of pancreatic insulinoma.
Methods:The clinical data of 137 patients with insulinoma treated in our hospital during the past twentysix years were reviewed retrospectively.
Results:There were 77 males and 60 females. All of them were characterized by the Whipple′s triad. The sensitivity of ultrasonography, CT and MRI for localization was 35.1%, 67.9% and 58.1% respectively. One hundred and tweentysix patients underwent operation. Of them, 102 cases had tumor enucleation, 4 cases had pancreaticoduodenectomy, 16 cases had distal panreatectomy, and the other 4 cases had only laparotomy. Of the 122 patients, who underwent resection, the tumor was benign in 118(96.7%) and malignant in 4(3.3%). The diameter of the tumor was less than 2cm in 86.9% of cases. In 98.4% of cases the tumors were single and in 1.6% of cases were multiple. 13.1% of the tumors located in the head, 46.7% in the body, and 40.2% in the tail.
Conclusions:Whipple′s triad and the measurement of fasting glucose, IRI, IGR, Cpeptide, and proinsulin levels contribute to the diagnosis of insulinoma. However, the preoperative tumor localization is still difficult. Tumor enucleation is the technique of choice when feasible. Patients in whom tumor localization is unsuccessful at operation should be carefully evaluated to be certain of the diagnosis, and in general should not undergo blind resection.