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Introduction Pancreatic stump leak is a significant problem for patients undergoing distal pancreatectomy with documented leak rates up to 40%. Leaks can lead to substantial morbidity, additional procedures and added cost. Radiofrequency dissectors have shown decreased bile leak rates after partial hepatectomies. This technology has yet to be applied and studied in distal pancreatectomies. The objective of this study was to compare the use of radiofrequency (RF) dissector as compared with traditional methods of stump closure.MethodsFifty-four patients underwent distal pancreatectomy at our institution between 2002 and 2009 by the Surgical Oncology Section of the Division of Surgery. Thirty-three patients had traditional methods of stump closure compared with 21 patients who had radiofrequency closure of the pancreatic parenchyma. Leak rate, operative time and blood loss were compared. Twenty-two of the 33 traditional patients underwent open distal pancreatectomy (DP) (66.7%) and the remaining 11 underwent laparoscopic DP. Seven of the 21 RF dissection patients underwent open DP (33.3%) and the remaining patients underwent laparoscopic DP.Results Stump leaks occurred in 12 of 33 (36%) patients with traditional stump closure compared to 1 of 21 leaks (4.6%) in patients with RF closure. This resulted in an 87% reduction of stump leaks (p<0.01). Operative time (314 min versus 211 min [p<0.01]) and blood loss (364 mL to 212 mL [p<0.05]) were also decreased in the RF closure group. Length of stay decreased from 7.8 days to 6 days, however this was not statistically significant (p=.09). Conclusions The use of radiofrequency stump closure in distal pancreatectomy can be used effectively for pancreatic surgery with low rates of stump leaks. RF closure should be studied further in prospective studies.