Background: Tumors of the head of the pancreas and of the periampullary region, similar nosologic entity, represent the fourth most common cause of cancer death. These tumors are characterized bt high mortality rate associated with a low percentage of surgical resectability. Vasculary involvment is, in our experience, one of the criterias of exclusion for curative surgical resection. For this reason reginal pancreasectomy don’t show, in several case records, comforting datas about survival. Methods: From 1995 to 1998 we intoduced in the operative practice the color –doppler ultrasonography to diagnose vasculary involvment.