Decision-Making for the Management of Cystic Lesions of the Pancreas: How Satisfied Are Patients with Surgery?

INTRODUCTION: This study aims to understand patients' perspectives and satisfaction with choosing surgery for the treatment of pancreatic cystic lesions (PCLs). METHODS: A 62-question survey was administered to 113 patients who had a resection for a PCL by 12 surgeons at two pancreatic specialty centers (2004-2016). Patients' final diagnoses and perioperative outcomes were correlated to the survey's results using univariate analysis. RESULTS: Fear of cancer was quite or extremely important in most respondents' decision to have surgery (95.4%). Respondents were quite or fully satisfied with the outcomes of surgery (91.1%) and with the decision-making process (89.3%). Distress from anxiety about the cyst before surgery (58.6%) largely outweighed that from postsurgical lifestyle changes (14.4%). Furthermore, 88.7% of patients with pathologically non-malignant disease were quite or fully satisfied with their decision to have surgery, and patients with mucinous neoplasms reported high satisfaction rates independent of grade of dysplasia or malignancy (p = 0.641). CONCLUSION: Patients with a resected PCL are highly satisfied with their decision to have surgery, regardless of the final diagnosis or clinical outcome. Fear of cancer is the main driver in the decision-making process, and the anxiety of harboring a cyst is a greater cause of distress than are postsurgical lifestyle changes.