Whipple Surgery by the Numbers
The procedure takes 4-12 hours. Recovery in the hospital can last 7-14 days. Healing at home takes about 2 weeks.
The Whipple procedure is a difficult and demanding operation and can have serious risks. However, this surgery is often lifesaving, particularly for people with cancer.
The Whipple procedure is almost always recommended for pancreatic cancer, which has 2 main types: adenocarcinoma and neuroendocrine tumors of the pancreas. It is sometimes also performed for cancers in the bile duct passing through the head of the pancreas and ending in the small intestine.
Formally called the pancreaticoduodenectomy, the Whipple procedure is named for the surgeon, Allen Oldfather Whipple, who refined it in the mid-1930s. It's frequently recommended if the cancer is located in the head of the pancreas, the widest part of the fish-shaped gland in the center of your abdomen.
Prognosis After the Whipple Procedure
Overall, the five-year survival rate after a Whipple procedure is about 20 to 25%.
But, for most people, it takes as long as 2 to 6 months to fully get back to a normal quality of life. Ultimately, patients should be able to do anything after surgery that they could do before. Some patients get back to running marathons after a Whipple procedure.
In these instances, a PD is performed to achieve a reasonable goal, palliation, and the term palliative Whipple accurately describes the procedure.
In some cases, the surgeon may remove the body of the pancreas, the entire duodenum and a portion of the stomach. On average, the surgery takes six hours to complete. Most patients stay in the hospital for one to two weeks following the Whipple procedure.
The Whipple's procedure is a complex surgery performed under general anaesthesia. During the procedure, your surgeon makes an incision and removes the head of the pancreas, the gallbladder, duodenum, a part of the bile duct, and sometimes a part of the stomach.
You should be offered chemotherapy after surgery to remove the cancer (such as the Whipple's procedure), to try to reduce the chances of the cancer coming back. There are three types of chemotherapy that may be used: FOLFIRINOX. gemcitabine with capecitabine (GemCap)
Only about 8.5% of people with pancreatic cancer live for five years. If you have the Whipple procedure, your chances increase to 25%.
In a standard Whipple procedure, the surgeon removes the head of the pancreas, the gallbladder, the duodenum, a portion of the stomach and surrounding lymph nodes. The surgeon then reconnects the remaining pancreas and digestive organs.
Not all patients experience these long-term side effects, but they can include: decreased pancreatic function, in which the organ doesn't produce enough enzyme to digest food in the small intestine. This can result in abdominal pain and tenderness, loss of appetite, and weight loss and diarrhea. diabetes.
Broadly, there are two types of pancreatoduodenectomies; the more extensive "classical Whipple (CW)" and the "pylorus sparing pancreatoduodenectomy (PSD)." [5] The CW entails the removal of the pancreatic head, the duodenum, a section of the stomach, the gallbladder, and a part of the bile duct while in the PSD the ...
Q: What was the longest operation ever? A: Actually, the longest surgery on record occurred in 2001 and lasted more than four straight days—103 hours to be exact. A team of 20 doctors at Singapore General Hospital worked in shifts to separate Ganga and Jamuna Shrestha, 11-month-old twins conjoined at the head.
Pulmonary complications was the leading cause of death after Whipple's procedure 3(12.5%) (Table 2).
While there is no age limit for the Whipple procedure, age-related issues and conditions may impact a patient's medical course and outcome.
Surgery with the Whipple procedure is often successful in treating these early stage cancers. Adjuvant chemoradiotherapy is often recommended after surgery.
For cancer in the body or tail of the pancreas
You might have surgery to remove the body and tail of your pancreas. It is called a distal pancreatectomy. Very rarely, your surgeon might plan to remove the whole pancreas.
While it is possible to live without a pancreas, it takes time each day to ensure insulin levels are balanced and you take the necessary enzyme pills every meal. Keeping up with your medications and implementing lifestyle changes are the key factors that determine your health moving forward.
Cytoreductive Surgery Procedure
Cytoreduction is a complex procedure that generally lasts 10 to 12 hours. Because this mesothelioma surgery is so lengthy, patients are sometimes admitted to the hospital a day before the surgery.
Weight Loss
It is normal to lose up to 5-10% of your body weight after having a Whipple procedure. If you are continuing to lose weight exceeding 5-10% of your pre-surgery weight, consult a registered dietitian for recommendations on increasing your calorie intake.
Dumping syndrome is when food moves too fast from the stomach into the small intestine. It may also be called rapid gastric emptying. Dumping syndrome is more common after a Whipple procedure than a modified Whipple procedure.